Leeds Bradford Airport

[jonleeds]

I mean in this day and age would people really want to get a train to Leeds Bradford airport? I'm sure most folk who live in the vicinity of Leeds or Bradford would get a friend / relative to take them and their luggage to the airport, or get one of those airport mini-bus taxis. Like someone mentioned the Gatwick Express is ludicrously priced for the length of the journey, and I expect that any airport dedicated rail link would also be overpriced so as to make it not worth using. I mean even if it was only a tenner per adult and say half price for kids, that would mean £30 for 2 adults / 2 kids, and you can get a taxi for a similar price. Plus its likely to cost a lots more than that. Plus to use it from most parts of Leeds or Bradford would mean probably getting a train from either your local train station to Leeds city station etc, then transferring trains along with having to lug around heavy cases from platform to platform, which all adds up to a very stressful process, especially for families with kids / extra luggage etc. I can understand the large airports having rail links, but for the amount of passengers who use LBA, just how many people do they think would use the train at all considering the extra hassle it could entail - 10%? less..?!

[cnosni]

jonleeds wrote: I mean in this day and age would people really want to get a train to Leeds Bradford airport? I'm sure most folk who live in the vicinity of Leeds or Bradford would get a friend / relative to take them and their luggage to the airport, or get one of those airport mini-bus taxis. Like someone mentioned the Gatwick Express is ludicrously priced for the length of the journey, and I expect that any airport dedicated rail link would also be overpriced so as to make it not worth using. I mean even if it was only a tenner per adult and say half price for kids, that would mean £30 for 2 adults / 2 kids, and you can get a taxi for a similar price. Plus its likely to cost a lots more than that. Plus to use it from most parts of Leeds or Bradford would mean probably getting a train from either your local train station to Leeds city station etc, then transferring trains along with having to lug around heavy cases from platform to platform, which all adds up to a very stressful process, especially for families with kids / extra luggage etc. I can understand the large airports having rail links, but for the amount of passengers who use LBA, just how many people do they think would use the train at all considering the extra hassle it could entail - 10%? less..?! Equal hassle to getting to manchester airport but without an hour and a halfs journey time.Passenger frequency is increasing at LBA and they have plans to enlarge.Gatwick express is expensive compared to other rail routes but is cheaper than getting a taxi.Cant see it being £10 to the airport from bradford or leeds.

[book]

The buses that go there seem to be used by locals and when I caught them I was the only one on them with a hold all. I can't see much take up for the train link. Some groups may use them if they decide to meet in Town then make their way on trips to benidorm but I doubt that the link will be popular for most travellers. Freight may increase but I still think it would have been better to relocate the airport nearer good road networks    

[jonleeds]

The last time I got on the Gatwick express it was in 2001 and it cost £25 ONE WAY each! On the way back we booked a local taxi from Gatwick to our doorstep in Ilford and that only cost £28 for all three of us which was a bargain compared to the £75 we'd have paid just to return to central London and then have to negotiate the tube with heavy suitcases, plus then walk from tube station to home or get the overland buses.What I meant was when it comes to special rail-airport links the normal rules of rail ticket pricing seem to go out the window and you end up paying 5 x the normal price. I dunno, maybe for folk coming from places furthur away from Leeds or Bradford it might have some appeal, but I cant personally see myself ever using it.

[Leodian]

I've just been roaming around on Google Earth and saw this view looking down onto the Leeds Bradford International Airport. The scene (dated 2013) shows 11 large planes and at least 1 small one. I would not have guessed there would be so many, so I wonder if this is a typical number of planes there in daytime? http://goo.gl/maps/GMvBTPS. City Cabs Taxis Leeds looks to be in a dangerous spot!

[tyke bhoy]

Judging by the shadows, being on the right, its mid/late evening and appears to be summer. Its a long time since I've seen the early morning departures board but last time I did just after the curfew was pretty much the busiest time of day for departures which means the planes had to be on the apron the night before.

[simong]

The airport is quite busy at around 7pm during the week as a quite a few scheduled flights come in from Europe at around that time. It's fairly busy during the day at any time though, a walk around the Tarn on a weekday almost guarantees a couple of takeoffs.If you were that way inclined you can pretty much fly to Amsterdam, Frankfurt or a few other places on the mainland in the morning, do a day's work and be back home by 9pm. The first flight to Amsterdam in the morning actually gets you there too early to do anything.

[cnosni]

simong wrote: The airport is quite busy at around 7pm during the week as a quite a few scheduled flights come in from Europe at around that time. It's fairly busy during the day at any time though, a walk around the Tarn on a weekday almost guarantees a couple of takeoffs.If you were that way inclined you can pretty much fly to Amsterdam, Frankfurt or a few other places on the mainland in the morning, do a day's work and be back home by 9pm. The first flight to Amsterdam in the morning actually gets you there too early to do anything. Im sure theres always something to do in Amsterdam

[majorhoundii]

Well it's nearly two years since the last time I posted on this thread. I flew from LBA to Montpellier on Thursday. The Greggs that was at LBA has gone, we bought two coffees and two bacon sandwiches £11.70! Despite the fact that since privatisation improvements were promised, none are apparent. On arrival by air you are still confronted, carrying heavy hand-luggage, with what seemed like a half mile walk to passport control, plus three flights of stairs, to add insult to injury there's an escalator going down! A half hour wait for the carpark bus (Sentinel was full) It seems to me that whoever owns the airport are just using it as a cash cow, with no investment at all. Montpellier is also a small regional airport BTW, its facilities far outshine LBA. I shall think twice before travelling from LBA again

[cnosni]

majorhoundii wrote: Well it's nearly two years since the last time I posted on this thread. I flew from LBA to Montpellier on Thursday. The Greggs that was at LBA has gone, we bought two coffees and two bacon sandwiches £11.70! Despite the fact that since privatisation improvements were promised, none are apparent. On arrival by air you are still confronted, carrying heavy hand-luggage, with what seemed like a half mile walk to passport control, plus three flights of stairs, to add insult to injury there's an escalator going down! A half hour wait for the carpark bus (Sentinel was full) It seems to me that whoever owns the airport are just using it as a cash cow, with no investment at all. Montpellier is also a small regional airport BTW, its facilities far outshine LBA. I shall think twice before travelling from LBA again Well they are only cutting their own throat. Looks like all the bravado has come to nothing. Shame as it has so much potential especially if it had a rail link