Business News
Turkish Airlines renews its Chamber patronage
Facilities will be extended
Airport’s plans are flying high
Birmingham Airport has unveiled a new master plan, titled, ‘The Midlands Gateway to the World’, which sets out its future investment projects. The airport plans to spend
£500m in modernising and extending its facilities, to deliver increased capacity for airline customers and improve life for passengers. The airport plans to offer a
greater choice of flights and destinations, alongside improved regional connectivity and a direct link to HS2. It will continue to expand the
existing wide range of short- haul and long-haul scheduled and charter services and destinations, with both full- service and low-cost airlines. Simon Richards, acting managing director, Birmingham Airport, said: “Birmingham Airport is already the preferred national and international aviation hub for the Midlands and our ambition is to build on this to become one of Europe’s leading regional airports, acting as a key economic accelerator, delivering great service to passengers, and helping to showcase the region.” Chamber chief executive
Paul Faulkner said: “This bold move by the airport to enhance its position as a leading regional airport is a welcome one, particularly for the area’s business community. “Worldwide connectivity is
essential for exporters and will become even more important as the region’s businesses seek wider markets post-Brexit. “And when HS2 opens the
rail journey between Birmingham Airport and central London will reduce from 70 minutes to 38 minutes as it becomes the UK’s first and only high-speed- connected airport.”
Turkish Airlines has reaffirmed its commitment to Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and the city itself after renewing its patronage. The airline, which flies to more
international destinations than any other airline, first became a Chamber patron in 2016. Turkish underlined its
commitment to Birmingham by announcing that it is to launch a second daily flight between the city and Istanbul for summer 2019. The launch of the second service
will offer passengers greater choice and flexibility. The first service will leave Birmingham Airport at 10.40am, arriving in to Istanbul at 4.35pm local time, with the second flight departing at 5pm from Birmingham and arriving in Turkey at 10.55pm local time.
‘This year marks the tenth anniversary of Turkish Airlines flights to and from Birmingham Airport’
The second flight is to launch on
31 March 2019 and will be operated by a 737-800. Turkish Airlines was founded in 1933 and now flies to more than 300 destinations in 122 countries. When the company first
commenced its operations, it had a fleet of just five aircraft – today it has 330 passenger and cargo planes. The airline has also significantly
developed its services in other ways, including its business class offering, which has several state-of-
the-art cabin features, including audio video on demand, wi-fi and live TV. Omer Faruk Alier, general manager for Birmingham with Turkish Airlines, said: “This year marks the tenth anniversary of Turkish Airlines flights to and from Birmingham Airport and what better way to mark the occasion than by renewing our patronage to Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. “We want to give something
back to the community which is why we have announced the launch of a second daily flight between the city and Istanbul for summer 2019.” Paul Faulkner, CEO of the
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “Turkish Airlines is a longstanding and valued partner of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.”
• For more patrons’ news - see pages 30 and 31
Profit warning leads to Flybe sale
Flybe – one of the biggest airlines operating from Birmingham Airport – has been put up for sale, according to reports. The airline said it is undertaking a comprehensive
review of various options to address the “current challenges facing the airline industry”, one of which was a potential sale of the business. Flybe is the largest airline in terms of passenger
volumes at Birmingham Airport, with more than 20 winter routes from Aberdeen to Stuttgart. It comes after the airline’s latest results for the half
year to the end of September revealed a 54 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to £7.4m, while revenues fell 2.4 per cent to £409.2m.
Falling consumer demand, a weaker pound and
higher fuel costs are being blamed. Chief executive Christine Ourmières-Widener said:
“Continued improvements are being seen into quarter three which demonstrates the popularity of Flybe for our customers. However there has been a recent softening in growth in the short-haul market, as well as continued headwinds from higher fuel and currency costs. “We are responding to this by reviewing every
aspect of our business. This is already starting to have a positive impact, as shown by the improved first half adjusted profit before tax; however, we must do more in the coming months. We remain confident in the vital role that Flybe plays in UK connectivity.”
See page 39 for details of next year’s annual Chamber dinner and awards 8 CHAMBERLINK December 2018/January 2019 Omer Faruk Alier (left) and Paul Faulkner
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
