Leeds Bradford Airport

BIG N · Post by **BIG N** » Thu 25 Oct, 2012 1:42 am

cnosni wrote: As ive said its all conjecture,but IF it goes ahead and IF LBA's master pland of providing more terminals and a longer runaway then perhaps the issue of flights to the US and long haul may one day come to pass(im not holding my breath) Cnosni - I've not actually read any plans etc for the airport extension, I'm only going on what I've read on here so can I ask you a question.Have they actually said they need to extend the runway for long haul flights ? I only ask because its already long enough to accomodate 747's - that was the reason it was extended over the main road many, many years ago.

Post by **cnosni** » Thu 25 Oct, 2012 2:59 am

BIG N wrote: cnosni wrote: As ive said its all conjecture,but IF it goes ahead and IF LBA's master pland of providing more terminals and a longer runaway then perhaps the issue of flights to the US and long haul may one day come to pass(im not holding my breath) Cnosni - I've not actually read any plans etc for the airport extension, I'm only going on what I've read on here so can I ask you a question.Have they actually said they need to extend the runway for long haul flights ? I only ask because its already long enough to accomodate 747's - that was the reason it was extended over the main road many, many years ago. This is what they are proposing,though id have to say 2015/2016 is a bit too close now.http://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/a ... masterplan

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Thu 25 Oct, 2012 8:18 pm

cnosni wrote: raveydavey wrote: Johnny39 wrote: L-B is rather difficult to get to from York and further north-eastwards. True you don't have to go into the city of Leeds but there is no major road I can think of from the north-east of the county to the airport. Humberside and Doncaster are more accessible but don't have the same choice of destinations. I think it's accepted now that LBA is in the wrong place, but I guess we're stuck with it.IIRC, traffic heading down the A1 is directed off at Harrogate onto the A59 and then around the A658 to the south of the town and (eventually) up Pool bank - a fairly tortuous single carriageway route.Traffic from the York area either follows the same looping route, or comes via Collingham and Harewood on the equally indirect A659 to Pool bank - the York Airport bus follows that route and only just fits round some corners betwixt Harewood and Pool.I'm still not convinced by the planned "tram train" route. Other than the airport I'm unclear who will it serve. Do many people need to get to Guiseley from Horsforth (or vice versa) via public transport? Dave,its not so much about commuters but airline passengers and the airport,i dont think it is meant to serve anyone else,just them. I appreciate that - which begs the question as to why it needs to connect to two different railways lines. The only answer I can think of is that via Horsforth is the obvious and more sensible idea, but Bradford are terrified of missing out, hence the continuation all the way down to Guiseley and the line to Forster Sq. Unless they intend to run it as a loop, with tram trains only going one way...

Riponian · Post by **Riponian** » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 11:48 am

The bus to the Airport from York stopped quite a while ago, though it's probably a dead heat either travelling to Harrogate or Leeds on the train and catching a bus.I can't really see any rail link to the airport being economical to build, there isn't the passenger flow that Manchester has and it's an engineering problem being so much higher than the rail line at Horsforth, meaning a hefty 1 in 20 gradient up from there.There are areas more deserving of a rail service, probably a lot cheaper such as restoring the link down to Otley from Menston, they could always run a shuttle bus from there.

p · Post by p » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 12:34 pm

Problem with the extention to Guiseley is where to build it, Yeadon Banks (the area around Haw Lane/Haw top) is a village green and can't be built on without changing this status, and this wouldn't be easy as well as popular. Yeadon High Street all the way from Murgatroyds down to Kirk Lane and surrounding streets has special protection of some kind (think they call it a conservation area), this too can't be altered. You'd have to go underground through Harrogate Road, Green Lane then use the old track bed by the A65 to Esholt Woods and come out that way, might as well curve the line into the Bradford line if it uses that way. On a seperate subject, why has LBA almost never had an express bus service? It'd save a good 10 minutes if not more on the stopping service and both services could run with a combined frequency of every 15 mins at both ends meaning those who have just missed a bus won't be tempted to get a taxi from rip off (Arrows). I can call them that because I was once quoted £25 by them where as another local firm charged just £15! When First ran the 757, on a number of full services in the evening peak, I was just about able to board at the fountian fish shop opposite Murgatroyds. The drivers at that point would always turn into private services and run non stop to Leeds, it only took 15 to 20 minutes if traffic was good, no more than half an hour with traffic.

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 1:19 pm

Changing the subject slightly, can any of our readers remember when The Griffin Hotel, Boar Lane, acted as the terminal for the old Yeadon Airport and a bus left to the airport from there?

S L Lee · Post by **S L Lee** » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 1:51 pm

Yeadon airport great where it is, only a mile away from my sons house, and buses from Leeds and Bradford pass his street. Taxis based at the airport are a rip off, but then they'll have to pay to be there

p · Post by p » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 3:25 pm

It's ironic that the black and white cabs were cheaper than Arrows, you'd have thought Arrows would have brought fares down, rumour (and I must emphasise it's a rumour) has it they over paid for the contract knowing they would re-coup the cost through high fares. These rumours have come from numerous people from taxi drivers to shop workers to airport staff themselves!

jdbythesea · Post by **jdbythesea** » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 7:55 pm

p wrote: It's ironic that the black and white cabs were cheaper than Arrows, you'd have thought Arrows would have brought fares down, rumour (and I must emphasise it's a rumour) has it they over paid for the contract knowing they would re-coup the cost through high fares. These rumours have come from numerous people from taxi drivers to shop workers to airport staff themselves! I got back from holiday the other day and flew into East Midlands Airport. The private hire (they are NOT taxis) set-up there is exactly the same as LBA and, surprise surprise, Arrow has the concession there too with inflated fares to match. I understand that they operate the same way at Manchester Airport as well.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Fri 26 Oct, 2012 8:31 pm

Two interesting points raised, so here are my responses to both - in my opinion!The Airport bus (757) cannot apparently be made to pay as a "commercial" service in it's own right, hence the convoluted series of routes it has plied as Metro try to cover at least some of the cost of running it. At one point the airport was merely a stop on a route that extended to Otley via Pool Bank from Leeds, for example.It's a quandary and no mistake - I doubt there are the passenger numbers to warrant a more high frequency service, yet a half hourly peak time frequency (with near on 40 minutes scheduled to get to Leeds, picking up passengers along the way) is likely to put people off relying on it. More so when the frequency drops to hourly in the evenings. Plus most passengers would then need onwards transport from Leeds to wherever they actually live...Whilst a tram train may look more modern and be slightly quicker, we've no idea of planned service frequency and the issue of what to do once you arrive in Leeds remains the same.As for the current private hire service, well that is business for you. Arrow were clearly content to secure sole operating rights by paying a significant premium which they appear to be clawing back through high fares. That is what a monopoly does.The irony of all this is that the hackney carriage drivers seem to expect the council to do something about it with public money, when they weren't prepared to put enough of their own cash into a deal for themselves. Goodness knows how much of our money has already been spent on the abortive plans for a taxi rank half a mile from the terminal that no-one would have used.