Airport

[NickB]

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Don't know if anyone is interested, but ther have been some interesting comments over on the Oban forumregarding the new airport - it seems like there is more going on than might be gleaned from the articles and letters in the Oban Times.

- NickB

[Herby Dice]

Much of the stuff posted in the OT is, to say the least, slanted (not least because the airport manager has been forbidden from speaking directly to the press)- the latest installment, claiming that the CAA are witholding the licence because of "ad hoc refuelling" is, quite simply, an untruth, probably even false. The only comments the CAA have made regarding fuelling of aircraft in reference to a full audit of the primary fuel supplier, the one who will, ultimately, be providing fuel to passenger transport aircraft. This has, or so my little moles tunnelling under Connel tell me, not been forthcoming.

More news coming, watch this space.

[Seventhseil]

I understand the need for the runway to remain open for medivac and other emergencys but it seems a waste of time and money to try and get connel to become a commercial airport. Where is the need?

Flying will take as much time as driving to Glasgow, although it would be slightly quicker than getting either the Bus or Train.

Surely the council should be spending the money on road improvements, while putting pressure on rail and ferry providers to get with the 21st century.....

[NickB]

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I believe the argument is that it is a lifeline link for Colonsay and Coll, who only get three or four ferries a week - which of course are sometimes cancelled due to weather. One good thing might be that High School kids from Coll can get home from the hostel in Oban more often than they do now - assuming that the council is going to pay their fares??

Otherwise - I would have said it was a total waste of money, far better to spend it on a new Argyll-based air ambulance helicopter IMO, or on better harbours / RoRo facilities for the islands.

A scheduled air service to Glasgow it is a retrograde step, and unlikely to benefit the average Obanite. Journeys of this length are far better being made by rail, and spending the money improving the rail link would be a much better option I would have thought. Sadly, in spite of its carbon footprint air travel is still very much in fashion - as evidenced by the 'Open Skies' policy and the enthusiasm for a 3rd runway at Heathrow - and travelling by car as the sole occupant is (ridiculously) usually cheaper than travelling by train.

Beeching probably has more to answer for than any other decision maker of the last century when it comes to the transport/emissions mess we are now in.

- NickB

[Pentlandpirate]

Actually, I think it is only a matter of time before an operator tests the water and puts a commercial flight in to Oban. You may laugh, but this is the way the world is going. And the Council, will if it has any sense realise it has to invest in the facilities. Put a flight in and people WILL use it. And airports are surprisingly good at bringing in investment and jobs. Look at Carcassonne in the south of France where the local council actually subsidises Ryanair to pour in plane loads of tourists. Who says an airport in Oban couldn't be made to pay?

[NickB]

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Ryanair isn't going to be flying 737s into Oban. The airport is only going to operate small twin turboprops, so I don't think major operators are going to be queueing up. Plans are solely for flights to Glasgow, which is only 3 hours centre to centre using the existing appalling train service. Taking a bus out to Connel, checking in, security nonsense, collecting your bag at the other end then getting another bus into the centre of Glasgow and even the way it is now the train is probably quicker.

The seaplane service is providing a quick trip Oban to Glasgow city centre and is a viable alternative - a turbo prop from Connel to Glasgow airport isn't.

The lunatic subsidy of short haul air travel at the expense of rail has to stop.

- NickB

[Eric the Viking]

Look at Carcassonne in the south of France where the local council actually subsidises Ryanair to pour in plane loads of tourists

....but why did they build the castle so far away from the airport?

It seems to me that there are element within the council that see Connel Airport very much as their own baby - with a head in the sand approach to bulldoze this through without listening to genuine taxpayers concerns.

Playing poker with our greenbacks?

Remember thay've already raided the common good fund for his white elephant.

Perhaps a fraction of the cash already squandered could have been used to widen the A82 and remove the 20 year old 'temporary' traffic lights?

[Pentlandpirate]

Ryanair isn't going to be flying 737s into Oban. The airport is only going to operate small twin turboprops, so I don't think major operators are going to be queueing up.

You shouldn't think of an airport only providing a another means of transport to Glasgow. It's a means of transport to and from any part of the world so that people can fly in from London, Paris, the USA, Japan, wherever. And they will want to if there is a service.

The aircraft might be relatively small turboprops but as long as you can get yourself and your baggage on board, a boiled sweet will be quite acceptable in place of in-flight meals and movie.

Can any Fokker use Connel airport?

[NickB]

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Pentland,

There are NO PLANS at all for scheduled flights to anywhere except Coll and Colonsay. Mutterings of scheduled flights to Glasgow, but no-one really thinks this will happen in the near future. No way there will EVER be international flights in, or even flights from London. The airfield is never likely to be able to handle anything larger than a Saab 340 tops, and currently the biggest a/c planned is an Islander.

You seem to be suffering from the same delusions of grandeur that some of our councillors have been carried away with.

The truth is, all that was needed was for Coll and Colonsay to have their airfields upgraded - scheduled flights to Glasgow would have been more useful to the islanders surely, with no need for the expediture on Oban - which was running along quite nicely as a popular GA and microlight field until the council decided it wanted to run an airport.

The whole thing is almost certainly going to be a white elephant I am afraid - much as I would like to think otherwise. As part of a co-ordinated transport strategy it is about as far-sighted as the placement of a Ramp sign instead of filling in a pothole.

- NickB

[Pentlandpirate]

Nick, I don't think it has anything to do with grandeur. I agree you will never see international flights in and out of Oban, but a domestic link to Glasgow is feasible and if you can get something as big as a Saab 340 with capacity for 34 passengers (and with an inside loo) operating in and out with tourists (to Oban) in the 'high' season someone will create a package that make it viable. And it will create jobs and bring in investment.

Who would fly in? Foreign buyers visiting the fish farms. Planners and engineers working on wind farms and other energy schemes. Bird watchers and eco-tourists on a weekend break from the South. Japanese, Chinese and US tourists wanting to see the west of Scotland but travelling with the speed and convenience they are used to....money no object. And who is to say that once you can fly to London for a meeting (via Glasgow) it will not attract wealthy business people to relocate to the area? (whether you like the idea of that or not)

I'll bet money on there being commercial flights into Oban within the next 10 years.

[Seventhseil]

As Nick said I don't think there will be much call commercially for a fully functioning airport.......unless the Council know more about the Oil exploration licences recently up for grabs of the west of Scotland and Ireland, unfortunatly on past experience I do not think they do.

[NickB]

It seems to me that there are element within the council that see Connel Airport very much as their own baby - with a head in the sand approach to bulldoze this through without listening to genuine taxpayers concerns.

Playing poker with our greenbacks?

Remember thay've already raided the common good fund for his white elephant.

Perhaps a fraction of the cash already squandered could have been used to widen the A82 and remove the 20 year old 'temporary' traffic lights?

And after less than three years the great experiment is over . . . HIAL, which was in negotiations with the Council to take over the future managemnt of the airport, has backed off and ended the talks. A HIAL spokesperson said:

"Any arrangement we would have in Oban Airport would have to be a commercial arrangment and we would have to cover our costs. At this moment in time we are taking a back seat and do not plan to be involved with the airport at this stage"

Paul Keegan is probably hoping the Council will sell him the airport for a pound, but my bet is it will go for housing. Anyone want to buy some second-hand tarmac?

[Pentlandpirate]

They've got a very nice fire engine too.

[Foxglove]

Why should people who choose to live on a far flung island expext to have all the 'mod cons'? In these harsh financial times I would have thought there is no justification for any extra air travel that will cost the taxpayer money. We have lifeboats, helicopters, trains and buses...if you are not happy with that then you should move to the city

[Beetlejuice]

I do hope you're just saying that to wind us up, Foxglove, and that it isn't your seriously considered opinion.

[Foxglove]

No, Beetlejuice, I'm not at the wind up. Having lived on a West Coast island and now on the mainland I know there are a lot of disadvantages to island life. However, it is up to the individual as to whether they are prepared to live with them. I just happen to think there are far more deserving causes for the dwindling 'pot' of council money than making life easier for islanders. People who choose to live on an island generally know what their life is going to be like. Maybe the ones who are clamouring for better facilities should consider whether they are trying to change the dynamics of an island?

[sleepy]

On the subject of travelling from Macaskill International Airport to Glasgow and the length of time taken for travel, check in, security at both ends etc I thought the site below would be of interest.

Can anybody imagine flying from Glasgow to Edinburgh

Special price, eh !!!!

http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/book-flights-online/

No reason at all why a Saab or similar could not fly in druing the summer from the likes of Glasgow/London or from anywhere in the UK.

The seaplane as you all know fly 'seasonally' also.

As for the airport itself it does have the air of a 'jaundice jumbo' or indeed a 'pale pachyderm.' Ego trips and saving faces come to mind

Reminds me of a great deal of scarce money being spent on projects that would have been better spent on schemes that benefit the masses-roads, rail, transport in general - too many to list.

Maybe not in the same league as Trident, aircraft carriers, nimrod. Ok, Ok

But it is a bloody awful day and Jeremy Kyle is finished for the week

[sleepy]

Apologies to all, the element of surprise is lost a bit in that I copied the wrong web address!

The cost of a return flight from Glasgow to Edinburgh will set you back £999.00 - first class though............... with economy £100.00 less.