Air Competition for FGW

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Minimum check in at Exeter airport is 30 mins before departure for domestic, plus the extra time to potentially travel out to the airport, stagecoach buses take 25 mins from City centre to airport. So add probably an hour to flight times if you have to commute out from near the city, and the flight time is not competitive unless savings are made by London City being better located than paddington at the other end.

This ALWAYS comes up! LCY is superbly located for the City (as the name suggests!) and has very good links to the rest of London - as to the bus to the airport/checkin issue, unless you live right next door to Exeter St Davids/Paddington there is always going to be time spent getting to your starting point whether your journey is by train or plane, and I doubt anyone would aim to get to the station 30 seconds before departure, personally if I'm on a long train journey I'd be at the station a good 20 mins before departure to get newspapers, food & drink supplies etc so I really don't think it's an issue.

[LiskeardRich]

The cost of parking at Exeter airport, is more expensive than Gatwick and The poor public transport links will deter many, if you live outside of Exeter and you have to take train to Exeter anyway, you may as well stay on the train, as getting from the train to the airport is so slow, and poor bus times. The first bus isn't until 8am and last one is about 6pm.
I see all these factors deterring people using the service

.

Minimum check in at Exeter airport is 30 mins before departure for domestic, plus the extra time to potentially travel out to the airport, stagecoach buses take 25 mins from City centre to airport. So add probably an hour to flight times if you have to commute out from near the city, and the flight time is not competitive unless savings are made by London City being better located than paddington at the other end.

This ALWAYS comes up! LCY is superbly located for the City (as the name suggests!) and has very good links to the rest of London - as to the bus to the airport/checkin issue, unless you live right next door to Exeter St Davids/Paddington there is always going to be time spent getting to your starting point whether your journey is by train or plane, and I doubt anyone would aim to get to the station 30 seconds before departure, personally if I'm on a long train journey I'd be at the station a good 20 mins before departure to get newspapers, food & drink supplies etc so I really don't think it's an issue.

And as it always comes up, we already know that every service from the west-country to London has ceased due to low passenger numbers, easyjet, air southwest, Ryanair, BA^» (British Airways - about),the list goes on, and flybe were pulling out until Cornwall council arranged them a subsidy due to losses. Why will this service be any different?

[Umberleigh]

Would there be any rail services but for the subsidy?

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/04/firstgroup-taxpayer-subsidy

Flybe will have lower costs due to being much larger than Air South West. Flybe were still committed to a Newquay - London Southend summer service, akin to the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) summer direct trains. No surprise that the year-round Gatwick service suffered, look at FGWs winter timetable from Newquay...

Ever stood outside Exeter St David's for a while and seen how many passengers get dropped off/picked up by friends and family? So not just reliant on parking, buses or taxis.

It's a generally accepted fact that the journey beyond Exeter to Penzance is slower than driving, hence why so many drive up to Tivvy Parkway. So let's not assume all Exeter/Tivvy passengers started their journey locally.

Also the service will attract those who currently pay FGWs eye watering 1st Class fares, so a few quid extra on parking will hardly hurt.

Finally, a trip on the DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway) is a nicer proposition than the Tube at rush hour.

FGW need some serious competition to keep them on their toes: remember when they removed complimentary items from the trolley? So mean-spirited. There are still persistent rumours that the trolley service will be withdrawn, as will all buffet services beyond Plymouth.