Businesses urged to support new addition to airport’s route network

The managing director of Leeds Bradford Airport’s newest airline partner has urged the business community to support the route for the good of the region’s economic growth.

Both Jochen Schnadt, managing director at flybmi and David Laws, chief executive of LBA, spoke at an event to launch a daily service between LBA and Munich; along with Henri Murison of Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

Jochen Schnadt, managing director at flybmi, said the route would help to address linking up businesses in Germany with the north of the UK, supporting economic growth potential to address the balance between the north and south in the UK.

Talking to TheBusinessDesk.com, Schmadt said: “There is a huge opportunity for businesses both in Leeds City Region and Bavaria.

“Germany has de-centralised its economy and there are synergies between the two regions [Bavaria and LCR] across sectors including manufacturing, R&D and the universities. If the business community gets on board with this route, there are great opportunities.”

Asked how sales on the route, which takes flight with its daily service on Monday April 8, Schnadt said that they were “in line with our expectations” and that he felt confident that if they carried on in this way, the airline could be looking at the “next step up.” In particular, bookings have been strong for the Oktoberfest season, he added.

It is around a decade since the airline last had a presence at Leeds Bradford Airport, when the airline was known as British Midland and operated several European routes. Schnadt said that the city and the airport had changed significantly since then and he was optimistic about the investment in LBA’s terminal building and surface access. “There is a real buzz about the place, a vibrancy; and that is great.”

Schnadt added that the route also opened up opportunities for global connectivity from and to the Leeds City Region, as the firm will partner with German airline Lufthansa for “stress free” travel through hubs.

Schnadt said there was absolutely market for airline and route growth, even though the travel sector was “undergoing significant change” at present.

Laws, who has been in position for 20 months at LBA, said it was vital that the airport listened to the business community. He told the audience that when he first joined LBA, the business community told him that the infrastructure the airport was tired and that the infrastructure to and from the airport in some cases “didn’t exist.”

He added that a £20m investment to completely change the terminal, including the arrivals area, was underway to “completely transform” the airport and give passengers the best experience when travelling through. He said that the airport’s shareholders, AMP Capital, who acquired the business in October 2017 from Bridgepoint in a multi-million pound deal, were pleased with the margins and passenger growth and that “everything was heading in the right direction.”

Laws showed the audience visuals of the new parkway station proposals for the airport, as well as videos of what the new terminal would look like. He said: “The status of the new terminal is that it is being signed off by the shareholders first at the board meeting and there is a contractor on site. We are aiming for the extension to be in place by this time next year.”

The CEO said that he was excited for the coming 12 months. Talking to TheBusinessDesk.com, Laws said: “This is just the start. I am fairly confident that we will be able to announce more in the not too distant future. To do all of this work with more to come is a significant statement for the region.”

Laws said that a Department For Transport target to reach 7.1m  by 2030 was “achievable for this region.” He added: “The key now is to expand services.” He urged all those in the room to support the new route for the good of the region’s economic success and growth.

He concluded the morning by stating: “More exciting things are coming up. We’ll announce this later and continue to work hard. The key is for us to get a network that you’d be proud of so that you can get anywhere in the world as quickly as possible. Please, please spread the word.”