Reminded by Eastcliffe's article in the yourthanet (newspaper) "What goes around comes around.." in which Thanet's media tycoon, vents on the future of aviation at Kent International I think I may have stumbled upon the an acceptable means of air transport even for rich Luddites such as he. 
I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of the above airship is, except distracting drivers around Blackheath on the A2, as was the case yesterday (no I didn't take the picture whilst Driving(couldn't get the right angle)). Maybe an airship would be just the answer for the likes of ECR, whom made the discovery that a secret airport existed at Manston, not quite as noisey as a jumbo jet or practical but won't disturb you during the cocktail hour.
The suggestion that Manston is poorly located, seems at the outset to be a reasonable claim until you look at the many regional airports some of which, fall into where? category, anyway here is a list of airports that each have and a half million passengers plus experienced growth above 10%, in recent years Bournemouth, Coventry, Exeter, Liverpool, Norwich, Southampton, Durham Tees Valley, Inverness, Bristol, Prestwick, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford.
I would suggest that Manston has a similar population nearby as those airports I have just mentioned and in some cases I would guess, with better road links.
Eastcliffe suggests that Gatwick is one hour away, which it is, if you drive like a maniac which he adds is hardly an ordeal. True up to a point, still I always remember those return journeys made via Gatwick, like one from Palma, aircraft lands on time but takes 20 minutes to find parking space, then we wait half hour for bus, to terminal 15 mins, hike to immigration another 10, another twenty-five whilst the home office put on the charade of border control (they can allow in thousands of illegals but 200 odd EC citizens?), 20 minutes to reclaim bags, wait for bus to car park 20 minutes, find car and exit 10 minutes, oh and a more realistic hour and twenty minutes (still faster than speed limits) back to Thanet. Home in just 220 minutes, this compares very favorably with 25 minutes from touch down to kettle experienced by travelers at Manston. Even if I were generous an included leaving the gate in Dublin walking to the plane we are still talking in the range of 120-130 minutes.
I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of the above airship is, except distracting drivers around Blackheath on the A2, as was the case yesterday (no I didn't take the picture whilst Driving(couldn't get the right angle)). Maybe an airship would be just the answer for the likes of ECR, whom made the discovery that a secret airport existed at Manston, not quite as noisey as a jumbo jet or practical but won't disturb you during the cocktail hour.
The suggestion that Manston is poorly located, seems at the outset to be a reasonable claim until you look at the many regional airports some of which, fall into where? category, anyway here is a list of airports that each have and a half million passengers plus experienced growth above 10%, in recent years Bournemouth, Coventry, Exeter, Liverpool, Norwich, Southampton, Durham Tees Valley, Inverness, Bristol, Prestwick, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford.
I would suggest that Manston has a similar population nearby as those airports I have just mentioned and in some cases I would guess, with better road links.
Eastcliffe suggests that Gatwick is one hour away, which it is, if you drive like a maniac which he adds is hardly an ordeal. True up to a point, still I always remember those return journeys made via Gatwick, like one from Palma, aircraft lands on time but takes 20 minutes to find parking space, then we wait half hour for bus, to terminal 15 mins, hike to immigration another 10, another twenty-five whilst the home office put on the charade of border control (they can allow in thousands of illegals but 200 odd EC citizens?), 20 minutes to reclaim bags, wait for bus to car park 20 minutes, find car and exit 10 minutes, oh and a more realistic hour and twenty minutes (still faster than speed limits) back to Thanet. Home in just 220 minutes, this compares very favorably with 25 minutes from touch down to kettle experienced by travelers at Manston. Even if I were generous an included leaving the gate in Dublin walking to the plane we are still talking in the range of 120-130 minutes.
No doubt we will return to this subject "... again and again"
I meant to say population nearby i shall correct
ReplyDeleteIf were you to measure the population within an 40 or 50 mins travel they would be quite comparable
Like Peter I was wondering about you population estimates!
ReplyDeleteI have flown to Inverness - by the way - air port was similar to Manston but with a massive catchment area - being somewhere central Scotland.
I happen to know Bristol - a polulation of 1/2 million and its catchment area includes Cheltenham, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Bath etc...- a huge poulation.
I think of the places you listed those that I agree do have a similar population catchment to Thanet - would be those on the edges of the country - Exeter & Bournmouth.
I don't drive like a maniac - but I know I could not do Gatwick in an hour. An hour and half would be the very minimum estimate - but setting off - like you say we need to leave all that extra time to negotiate the car parking, find the terminal, etc...
Infrasture investment is badly needed, and has been sadly lacking, as witnessed with the roads around Westwood, this applies to the new CGD. If the airport is to be taken forward it will require public investment.There is no reason it should not be enjoying the same growth as an area such as Exeter.
ReplyDeleteThe airship is presently operating out of Damyns Hall - just north of the QE II bridge - for tours into central London. They used to come here occasionally about ten years ago. Not for tours though.
ReplyDeleteExeter, Southampton, and even Doncaster are thriving reginoal airports but I suspect the disposable income of the catchment area population is markedly different. You may have read last week that a third of all disability claimants in Kent live in Thanet. This with together with our 50 degree view of the rest of England and proportionally high unemployment limits, our aviation opportunities as illustrated by the rise and raod fall of EU Jet.
I think you've slightly misrepresented me here, Tony, although not to the point of defamation so I will stand down my wolf pack of highly trained media lawyers for the time being!
ReplyDeleteAs I said at the start of my article for yourfannit, I would have little objection to my Pimms glass being rattled by genuine flights to interesting destinations. It's the interminable oozalum flights that get on my quince. They are pointless and disruptive, and detract from Ramsgate's fledgling 'cafe culture' which needs to be attracting the millions of Brits who have started holidaying in the UK again, whether it be for financial or green reasons.
I have to say, though, that even during the aviation boom years which are now long past, Manston has proved itself a dead duck as far as being a thriving commercial airport is concerned, and any forward-thinking council would be considering right now what the alternatives for the site might be.
I for one would be happy to see the RAF back but that's not likely. A national museum of powered flight? I think that's already been done. How about a world class theme park then? At the very least it would make a fine lorry park for all those foreign truckers who use our West Cliff as a dormitory and bathroom!
In view of the crits of this posting I shall a be delveing into the demographics etc of each named regional airport or b off out into the sunshine to fester
ReplyDeletePHEW
ReplyDeletesitting on top of the westcliff y'day outside the foy boat having a plastic glass of lager shandy, I thought how wonderfully enhanced this vista would be with passenger planes taking off/landing every 10, 20, 30 mins.
ReplyDeletethe airbase was a necessity. An airport is not, especially when you have the social issues as we have in thanet. If you have well off people living and working in Thanet, you might need aan airport to jet them in, taken them on holiday. But if they were well off, would they want to live next to/underneath airplanes?
thanet earth, china gateway - both could have been built on the airbase sight, leaving the agricultural land as just that.
airlines going bust left, right centre, airlines in general struggling, fule prices increasing, environmental pressures - yet KCC and TDC continue supporting this white elephant.
You can imagine one turner is built. "shall we got to margates new modern art gallery?". "no, its full of off duty baggage handlers and planes keep on getting in the way of my pictures of the turner-esques sunset. lets naff off to folkstone."
what a rosy future we all have.
and tony, re demographics for your listed airports. One interesting fact links them all. None have the competitive disadvantage of being 2 hours drive from Stansted, Gatwick or Heathrow, with all they have to offer.
ReplyDeletesteve
ReplyDeleteKent population 1,634,000 estimate 2006 all within an hour most 40 minutes and no M25!
Try our radio controlled advertising blimps.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.metacafe.com/watch/1545037/pimping_our_blimp/
I am attending the 7th International Airship Convention in Friedrichshafen in October. There is a move to create the world's first blimp port at the old Flushing Airport, New York. Whther it ever comes off is another matter!
tony, I don't think you can say that 1.6mm people would all use manston for every flight, or every year. That reduces its captive audience somewhat.
ReplyDeleteCoupled with the fact Gatwick is closer to the more populous areas of kent.
and remember its not just about residents - Why would anyone want to fly into thanet? Come and see the charred remains of Margate and the giant sugar cube they are building? The towers of Richborough? Kerosene flavoured coffee at the Royal Harbour?
we are a long way short to the 10mm passengers the airport talks about. do you want to take the whole area backwards for the sake of a few hundred flights a year?