Orion737 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (7 years 12 months 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 1943 times:
Ten years ago, there were few if any flights to Murcia from the UK. Alicante, Gerona, Almeria and Malaga were served by charter/scheduled and Valencia was served from the UK by Iberia but flights to Murcia were virtually non-existent. It was an unknown airport for UK travellers.
Yet today we have tons of flights and from many smaller regional UK airports. I know many Brits have property now in Spain but why is their so much demand for Murcia flights. I mean Alicante and Malaga I can understand, as they are gateways to Costa Blanca and Costa Del sol but Murcia???
BY TOM CAIN
THE DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY HAS SIGNED A DOCUMENT ALLOWING DEVELOPERS SOCIEDAD AEROPUERTOS REGIONALES DE MURCIA TO GO AHEAD WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW AIRPORT FOR MURCIA.
Under the terms of the agreement, the regional government in Murcia will own the airport but Aeropuertos Nacionales y Navegacíon Aérea (AENA) will be in charge of running and administering the facility.
The new airport is scheduled to be open by 2006 and the consortium overseeing its construction plans to develop the surrounding area into a residential and tourism complex complete with hotels.
Once open, the new Murcia airport will be in direct competition with Alicante - where figures for last year show over seven million passenger movements, of which five million were of tourists to the Costa Blanca.
To compete with Alicante, Murcia airport will have a 3,000 metre runway and a passenger loading area for 16 aircraft with a capacity for 22 departures and arrivals an hour. The total cost of building the facility is estimated to be in excess of 144 million euros.
Officials at the Public Works Ministry said that the signing of the document and the conditions it contains show that Murcia's new airport is a private enterprise built without Government finance.
Many of the no-frills airline companies operating out of Alicante are already making plans for future expansion into Murcia and the lucrative market the new airport will provide.
BananaBoY From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 1558 posts, RR: 26 Reply 2, posted (7 years 12 months 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 1908 times:
Maybe just because of the reasons you stated...
The Costa Calida is meant to be stunning, and maybe it is because of the fact that the mass-tourism industry hasn't taken over that has lead to the rise in private ownership and the need for direct flights.
Maybe the logic behind it is if they can reduce the total journey time from UK to the property, thus increase the convenience of travelling, they can increase the frequency of people visiting the area.
Wasn't Murcia served by Barwell Leisure charter flights (using EAF BAC 1-11's) because of the excellent golf in the area?
Talking of flights a few years ago, I remember when the charters used to serve Valencia as well as Alicante. When did they stop?
Mark
Mark
All my life, I've been kissing, your top lip 'cause your bottom one's missing
Orion737 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (7 years 12 months 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 1900 times:
I can never remember Valencia being served by UK charter carriers. Gerona for Costa Brava, Reus for Costa Dorada, Alicante for Costa Blanca, Almeria for Costa Almeria and Malaga for Costa Del Sol.
Valencia was served only by Iberia from the UK in the 80s and early 90s. I dont know if other European charter carriers flew into Valencia but British charter airlines did not use Valencia as a gateway.
BananaBoY From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 1558 posts, RR: 26 Reply 4, posted (7 years 12 months 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 1886 times:
It's so weird.. I could have sworn that they used the airport (not like my geographical knowledge of Spain at age 5 would have been great) .. seems as though I am mistaken.
Mark
All my life, I've been kissing, your top lip 'cause your bottom one's missing
BCAL From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2004, 3384 posts, RR: 18 Reply 6, posted (7 years 12 months 2 days 15 hours ago) and read 1776 times:
Murcia became the principal airport for Brits owning property at La Manga Club. This was a huge complex originally funded by P&O, a British Company, and apart from the British management, an attraction was the golfing facilities often supplemented by big name golfing personalities offering golf practice and lessons. La Manga, although in the early days it looked like it would be a white elephant, expanded and then similar developments started nearby resulting in a boom. I believe that P&O organised the initial charter flights from UK to Murcia with airlines such as Dan-Air, Air 2000 etc.
Murcia was the nearest airport to La Manga. Passengers traveling into/from Murcia avoided the congestion, delays, package tourists and lager louts at Alicante, Girona etc.
I remember in its early days when there was only a weekly Saturday charter flight from the UK direct to La Manga, many locals went to the airport simply to watch the landing and take off. Security was then relaxed and I remember the Spanish sitting near the aircraft with their picnics, vino and cerveza. How times have changed.
The LCCs have also found that Murcia offers advantages over neighbouring airports, hence more passengers
[Edited 2005-05-25 12:05:07]
MOL on SRB's latest attack at BA: "It's like a little Chihuahua barking at a dying Labrador. Nobody cares."
Bwaflyer From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2004, 674 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (7 years 12 months 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 1619 times:
Banana Boy - Barwell chater two flights a week with Astraeus, a 737 from MAN, and a 757 from LGW (upgraded from a 737 last year). Flights are usually full.
Sponsor Message: 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
From UK - Wales, joined Oct 2004, 453 posts, 
Printer friendly format 
