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Future development plans for Perpignan airport

Posted: Fri 19 Dec 2014 17:14
by Admin
Just a quick recap of my chat with the director and development manager of Perpignan airport yesterday.

First, a big thank you to all of those who have already commented, either here or on the FB page. The airport management ARE reading, listening - and following the thread with interest. They are open to all suggestions and constructive criticism, and this is not a one-off discussion which will just fade away after Christmas - they have already started implementing improvements. Despite the fact that some people felt it not appropriate to say 'I want a flight to Leeds' (that's me!) they are genuinely interested in seeing which destination appear to be the most popular, so please carry on doing this.

Below is a brief resumé of our conversation, tho I didn't take any notes, so it's quite general. More detailed info will be supplied in the New Year.

- Work has already started on the new look airport, which will have terrace for watching planes (and smokers), exec lounge, better all round eating, drinking and loo facilities, with improved departure lounge. Part of the new airport will be in the building on your right as you drive up to the airport. According to the plans and photos I have seen, it looks smart and chic.

- They have looked at transport to and fro, and from March/April 2015, there should be airport transport. They are looking at a taxi share booking system where people can sign up to share a taxi to, say, Argeles.

- Staff have been pulled up about the bad attitude which they agree was present. They are much more pleasant and friendly now and hopefully that problem is on the way to being solved. They continue to monitor.

- A questionnaire will be prepared and posted online to continue to monitor your opinions

Finally, a big thank you to airport director Denis Leluc, and development manager Dimitri Sindres, who were totally charming and have instigated a new idea at Perpignan airport - listening to the needs of their clients!

PLEASE PASS ON THE LINK TO THIS THREAD. THE GREATER THE NUMBER OF COMMENTS, THE BETTER THE CASE TO PUT FORWARD.

Posted: Fri 19 Dec 2014 19:07
by Kate
Please feel free to add your comments, re-present or develop any thoughts or suggestions, new or already discussed, and continue to provide the airport management with your needs and ideas.

Routes

Posted: Fri 19 Dec 2014 20:13
by Flora
Newcastle would be a great route for a large area. Would serve the North of England and Scotland. Really think this would take off with decent flight times.

Posted: Fri 19 Dec 2014 20:18
by Owens88
East Midlands Airport (EMA) serves a massive population within 1 hr - 90 mins travel time.

In fact it might be useful if somebody did the Venn diagrams but a stable pattern based on , say, Manchester -EMA - Bristol might serve most people efficiently.

J

Flight from north

Posted: Fri 19 Dec 2014 20:52
by Caroline Papworth
Just wondering whether the airport would be getting in touch with Jet2 which operates mainly from Leeds but with some flights also from Manchester. We flew with them last week and had very positive experience but had to go via Barcelona. They were asking about new routes people would like and i suggested Perpignan.

Posted: Sat 20 Dec 2014 12:43
by Merisin
It is a while since we last flew via Perpignan or Carcassonne airports. Quite honestly it does not matter how they are improved if the customers are not there. We facilitate a lot of holidays for people. The feedback we get is not all good. There are major flaws in the offer in the PO. Can't speak for the Aude.

I know you don't like talking politics but the reality is that some sections of our society have a weird idea of what the tourists want and what choices they should have. As far as flying is concerned there are those who will do their damndest to undermine any expansion.


Mary

Posted: Sat 20 Dec 2014 13:22
by lonesome paddy
Kate wrote:Please feel free to add your comments, re-present or develop any thoughts or suggestions, new or already discussed, and continue to provide the airport management with your needs and ideas.
Well done and thanks Kate for taking the time and effort in keeping us informed and also for trying to improve the travel situation in the area.
Now for the important bit, did you remember to ask about a few free airline tickets for me.

Posted: Sat 20 Dec 2014 15:58
by Prosserp
A couple of things that seem obvious to me re the tourist industry of the region ...
I am a very keen cyclist and regularly cycle the cols around this region , i have also cycled the Alps and the high pyrenees as well , and i follow the sport with a passion , firstly girona has the highest rate of pro riders living there as they love this region for training ... The last time the Tour came to this region was in 2008 , why ??? ... and when it was here it was a quick cycle up through argeles
This would bring in so many cycle fans and promote the area ... And cyclists are a fanatical bunch who spend money , and return to train on the climbs that feature on the tour ,,, the climbs around this region are very hard and would make a fantastic spectacle ... Cycling is the biggest growing sport in the uk , it has overtaken golf now and middle aged men in lyrca love it ... My friends from the uk fly over with ryanir and bring their bikes with them 50 euros each way for the bike , extra on a return flight ..
They cant understand when they come ,,, why this region is not promoted as a great cycling training area ,, my mates race back in the uk and during feb/march they are always looking for places to go for a weeks training , in europe , a few adverts in cycling mags back in the uk , would help ...
Secondly the skiing seems very poorly promoted .... Perpignan airport should really be pushing itself as being an hours drive to the slopes and perhaps buses to the slopes ,,,etc,, a lot of people use Airbnb these days rather than hotels , perhaps pushing the airport on airbnb would help ,,,,
In winter perpignan is ideally suited for both these activities , and the flights could be full , if advertised properly , i have never seen perpignan articles for instance in the ryanair flight magazine ,,
Any articles promoting perpigan and its winter benefits , when was the last time ryanair promoted this area ,,,,
with modern technology and people sat around perpignan airport with not a lot to do , there should be tv screens next to flight departure and arrival screens , showing what the region has to offer, throughout the year ....
perpignan airport should also target areas of the uk that come to play rugby league against the dragons ,,,, and encourage them to come over for the weekend, when the match is on .... cheap weekend accommodation etc ...
also Lancaster is twinned with perpignan ,,, my mother in law lives in Lancaster and she has never been made aware of this .... couple of articles about perpignan on the local Lancaster news would go down well and a bit of competitive cricket .. football... (games) would get everyone interested
just a few ideas for you to pass on

Posted: Sun 21 Dec 2014 06:22
by Kate
From the airport development manager
We are aiming to target the right airline for the right route, so we are highly interested in the qualitative feedback that we can receive
A reminder that they are interested in your route requests.

airport

Posted: Sun 21 Dec 2014 10:00
by CarolineN
hi Kate

For us personally Bristol/Birmingham would be good to see family and friends

Stanstead is used by my husband to get to Heathrow

That is our input

I do know our other Brit neighbours with holiday homes here, would also like Bristol - and Birmingham.

Doesn't have to be with Ryan Air - have they looked at British Airways bouncing in a couple of times a week? The times I have driven to Toulouse to use BA to the UK, the BA staff say they are often asked to fly to Perpignan - especially in the height of summer and ski season.

Caroline :)

Posted: Sun 21 Dec 2014 14:10
by Santiago
I'm going to suggest the destinations that I've either not been able to get to or had to go a long way to get to. Ones that I would use if they were there.

Birmingham
Gatwick
Bristol
Dublin
Edinburgh/Glasgow
Hamburg
Frankfurt
Brussels (and not Charleroi)

Posted: Sun 21 Dec 2014 21:55
by sue and paul
Perpignan to Birmingham, low cost, all year round, a few times a week would be my choice. Birmingham has good rail and road connections to most parts of the UK

airport input

Posted: Mon 22 Dec 2014 12:55
by monsans
I would propose more connections with Ireland i.e. Dublin, Belfast, Shannon through Aer Lingus, Ryan air, etc. All year round for both the French and Irish. As I already posted on the last flights to Dublin there were 3/4 French.
Another would be yearly connections with Manchester.

Posted: Tue 23 Dec 2014 07:30
by Kate
A reminder to post here the route that you would most like to see arriving and departing from Perpignan, to help the airport development to target the most popular one.

Posted: Tue 23 Dec 2014 09:41
by montgolfiere
Leeds Bradford /Perpignan.....Please.

Perpignan & Carcassonne Airports

Posted: Tue 23 Dec 2014 10:38
by BT
A weekly flight out of season Dublin to Perpignan. The Summer 2015 schedule starts mid May. No Easter flights this year.

BT

Perpignan Airport

Posted: Tue 23 Dec 2014 17:07
by Lanark Lass
An all year round connection to Birmingham would be great for us.

Also I have friends and family in Central Scotland who love to come down to the area. A connection to any of the airports in the area from Glasgow or Edinburgh would be great for them.

Posted: Tue 23 Dec 2014 18:22
by Angieped
Southampton or bournemouth to Perpignan would cover a lot of the needs of southerners and there are good transport routes too. I know Fly e do summer flights but why can they not continue in the winter.

Posted: Tue 23 Dec 2014 19:53
by opas
Either perpignan - leeds or perpignan - manchester

Also perpignan- Palma would be great.

Posted: Tue 23 Dec 2014 20:53
by Sue
Either Perpignan/Bristol or Perpignan/Birmingham all year round.

Posted: Wed 24 Dec 2014 12:01
by oulibede
Perpignan/Birmingham or Perpignan/Bristol would be very welcome. We would use it about 10 times per year and our friends quite a bit more.

Posted: Wed 24 Dec 2014 15:58
by Kate
Leeds Bradford for me please!

Posted: Thu 25 Dec 2014 08:37
by Smiley G
I have 3 requests please:

1.I would like an ALL YEAR ROUND service from Perpignan to/from the UK with ANY CARRIER.

2.I would like the route Perpignan to/from Stansted to remain.

3.I would like the route Perpignan to/from Birmingham to be reintroduced on an all year round service as it once was.

Posted: Thu 25 Dec 2014 11:08
by Sue
You already have Stansted!

Posted: Fri 26 Dec 2014 21:39
by Sue
Sorry Smiley G I have just spotted the word "remain".

Posted: Mon 29 Dec 2014 00:08
by Phil Harris
If we assume that current routes will stay, then Stansted (Ryanair) and Southampton (Flybe) will remain convenient for people able to reach those airports within, let's say for the sake of argument, 2 - 2.5 hours - I'm assuming by road. For those travelling from the north (Leeds, Hull, Manchester - don't forget the rugby-fan market (and I'm not one!)) or the Midlands (Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Birmingham) for whom Stansted and Southampton are seriously long drives or very expensive train journeys - there seems to be a strong argument for regular flights from either Birmingham (extending the existing summer Ryanair route) or Leeds/Bradford. We can't expect routes that are perfect for everyone's doorstep; and we can't expect loads of new routes to open up which won't be economic for the airlines. And of course it gets really difficult when we take into account Scotland and Ireland....

Posted: Mon 29 Dec 2014 08:25
by Sue
None of the airports you mention Phil are within a 2- 2 1/2 drive from my destination in Devon. Bristol is the closest at a 1 1/2 drive. Also do not forget we are also talking flights to and from Carcassonne not just Perpignan.

Posted: Mon 29 Dec 2014 10:23
by madeleine.mcmullin
Gatwick would be a really good choice - useful for those wanting to get to the south coast without having to go round the M25 and also for those wanting to connect with long haul flights out of Gatwick and Heathrow. East Midlands would also be good for me personally as we have family living in Nottingham and Lincolnshire.

Posted: Mon 29 Dec 2014 13:32
by oiesauvage
First of all, thank you Kate for giving us this opportunity to contribute to this information gathering exercise! Happy new year to all!

I live in Dublin and have found the flights from Ireland to the region have really dropped off over the 8 years since I have been going back and forth, quite often we have no alternative but to fly in to girona or Barcelona which are not ideal in terms of transfers but we usually manage to get from a to b after a fashion. Aer Lingus began flights a few years ago to Perpignan but they have become over time too expensive because there are too few of them, the market they are satisfying now appears to be the wealthier families/retirees unfortunately. Fares from Ireland would bring tears to the eyes of most UK visitors, Ryanair have broken up the aer lingus monopoly over the past few years but there are still areas that AL revert to type - I have also noticed a significant number of northern Irish passengers flying out of Dublin lately too, probably because there are no flights from the north to the region at all. Anyway I think more frequent flights all year round would develop the market in a more sustainable passenger friendly way would be an answer to mine and many other Irish passengers problems as less flights equal higher fares and less visitors. Thanks!

Flights

Posted: Mon 29 Dec 2014 13:38
by artistcg
Please, all the year round from Perpignan to not Stansted, preferably Manchester. Or Birmingham.