Piloting Belfast City Airport Into The Future

February 24, 2004

Piloting Airport Into The Future  
icNorthernIreland.co.uk, Ireland
  
Direct flights from Belfast to Paris and Brussels,
longer operational hours and more airport retail
facilites - these are just some of the hopes of
Belfast City Airport's new chief executive.


In his first major interview since taking up the post,
Brian Ambrose outlines the developments he hopes to
land in the future. ADRIENNE McGILL reports.

THERE aren't too many airport chiefs who can roll up
their sleeves at a moment's notice and get to grips
with the technical complications of an aircraft
engine.

However, for Brian Ambrose, 44, the newly-appointed
chief executive at Belfast City Airport, it doesn't
pose a problem.

A qualified aeronautical engineer, who joined Belfast
planemakers Shorts as an apprentice more than 20 years
ago, Mr Ambrose is now at the controls of one of the
UK's fastest-growing airports.

Previously operations director at the airport, a role
which he held for seven years, he is well used to
dealing with a variety of complex issues across vital
services, including air traffic control, security,
fire crew, baggage handling and engineering.

Mr Ambrose, a native of Portavogie, admits that he's
followed quite an " illogical career path" to date,
moving from the technical side to management.

His appointment as BCA chief follows a period of rapid
growth and change at the facility, but there's more on
the horizon.

Between 1991 and 2001, BCA experienced an 8.2 per cent
average annual growth in passenger traffic.

Three main airlines use the airport - bmi British
Midland, British Airways CitiExpress and flybe -
serving 12 destinations in the UK.

A new twice-daily service from BCA to Cork starts next
month, operated by Irish airline Aer Arann. It is
stepping in to fill the gap left by Jetmagic, which
previously served the route.

Around 800 people work at the airport - 360 employed
directly and 450 by airlines and other concerns.

There are ambitious plans to capitalise on the as-yet
untapped opportunities at the airport which spans 300
acres, and Ferrovial - the Spanish construction
company which bought BCA last year from Bombardier for
£35m - is keen to continue development at the
facility.

The Spanish have made it clear that BCA is a good fit
for their business and they are keen to develop the
airport's commercial activities.

Services under management where Ferrovial see scope
for expansion includes the retail and service
concession business, which takes in gift shops and
restaurants.

However, the company also sees scope for increasing
revenues from aeronautics and non- aeronautic sources.

"Part of the Spanish influence is to develop more
retail opportunities," says Mr Ambrose.

"We already have two shops at the airport, but by
Easter hope to open a third.

"On the property side, there is plenty of development
potential with the land that we have beside the old,
and also the new terminal.

"The property development could be airport-related in
terms of using it for engineering, aircraft, or cargo,
but perhaps even office space."

Expanding services has been key to development in a
short period, with passenger numbers rising to a new
record of 2m, from 1.2m in 2000.

In 2002, just a year after the new £21m terminal
opened, the airport was faced with a massive 60 per
cent growth in passenger numbers following bmi's
decision to move its services from Belfast
International to BCA.

As a result, passenger levels at BCA rose from 1.2m to
1.8m.

"The business is successful, profitable and we have
put a plan together for this year to deliver good
results.

"At the moment, we have a 2m passenger base and I see
that going forward in a measured four-to-five per cent
growth year-on-year.

"Our biggest challenge to date was the massive growth
in passenger numbers.

"We spent nine months planning for bmi to come here
and, when they did, passenger numbers went up 60 per
cent practically overnight.

"That was a big challenge, but the change went
remarkably well," says Mr Ambrose.

However, perhaps the most controversial of the
developments planned is the major review of the
current planning restrictions at the airport, which
may be the subject of a Government inquiry.

The airport recently asked the Department of the
Environment to review the current planning agreement,
but residents living close to the airport have voiced
concerns about any such development.

"I think there is a measured way to grow the airport,"
says Mr Ambrose.

"We are not asking for something which is
fundamentally going to change how we have operated in
the past.

"Residents living near the airport are looking for
less flying - the public is looking for more flying.
We are trying to strike a balance."

BCA is currently restricted by a planning agreement
dating back to 1997, but with its roots in the 1980s,
on the number of passengers using the airport and the
number of flights operating in and out of the
facility.

Under the agreement, the number of seats for sale into
and out of BCA is capped at a total of three million -
or 1.5 million each way.

The airport is also prohibited from operating flights
between 9.30pm and 6.30am, and a significant
proportion of departures and arrivals must be routed
over Belfast Lough, instead of over east and south
Belfast, which are densely populated.

While there is a ceiling on aircraft movements of
45,000 per year, in 2003 a total of 33,345 planes took
to the skies or landed at BCA.

"The most controversial issue is extending the hours
when we can operate nightime flights. But it is a case
of tweaking the existing arrangements rather than a
radical change.

"There is market demand for a later in-bound flight
from Heathrow.

"Nearly anywhere you fly - if you look out of the
plane's window - you will see houses. There is nothing
unusual about having houses close to an airport.

"Our operating hours close at 9.30pm. If we got an
hour extension to that to 10.30pm that would be
sufficient.

"On the issue of seats for sale, we are restricted to
a ceiling of three million seats offered for sale. But
if we are looking at five per cent growth year-on-year
over the next five years, we will hit that ceiling.

"There are very few airports who have these
restrictions. These restrictions were linked to the
old terminal. But now we have a £21m terminal which
can accommodate more passengers."

Mr Ambrose said that, while the review request will
open a new debate on flying hours at the airport, any
attempt to change the operational hours would be
subject to the full rigours of the planning
legislation and would be conducted in an open way with
full community consultation.

"If there is a competitor, under any guise, we will be
very aggressive. We will not allow a competitor to
stunt the growth of this airport for their own
benefit.

"We have an open door policy - we have brought lots of
groups down to see the control tower and the airfield
and they have seen an airport which operates to a very
high standard and where safety is not compromised.

"But we have no appetite to get into a pitched battle
with anyone. Any public inquiry will allow people to
make an informed view.

"We will present facts and figures, and anyone who
opposes growth can present their case. Then the
planners have to make a judgement," adds Mr Ambrose.

Last year, the Government published an aviation White
Paper detailing plans for airports across the UK over
the next three decades in order to cope with the
massive expansion in air travel.

In 2000, nearly five million of the 180 million
passengers passing through UK airports used the three
main Northern Ireland airports: Belfast International,
Belfast City and City of Derry.

People living in Northern Ireland make more journeys
by air than those in many other parts of the UK,
around 1.4 return trips per person. While the
Government ruled that Belfast International Airport
should retain and expand its position as Ulster's
largest airport, it recommended that operating hours
at BCA should be reviewed.

"It does not matter if the expansion is happening in
Belfast, Birmingham or Glasgow.

"The fact is the industry is expanding rapidly. If you
don't put the infrastructure in place to cope with
that you will face gridlock.

"At present, the infrastructure can't cope with the
growth that is projected - you can't bury your head in
the sand - you have to address it.

"It is recognised that we are an economic gateway that
provides important linkages - especially to Heathrow
and the Government realises that there is a bit of
tweaking required if we going to fulfil that role."

On the issue of the Ferrovial's ownership of BCA, the
fact that the facility was bought by a company which
had extensive airport interests, is a bonus, maintains
Brian Ambrose.

Ferrovial owns 12 other airports the globe - in
Australia, the UK, Mexico and Chile - with a
throughput of more than 41 million passengers per
year.

It also has a 50 per cent stake in Bristol Airport,
which handles 3.5 million passengers a year.

At the time of the BCA purchase, the Spanish company
said it hoped to reap synergies through merging some
Bristol and Belfast operations.

Among its portfolio of airports is Australia's
largest, Sydney airport, which handles some 24 million
passengers a year: 9 airports in Mexico, including
Cancun and Antofagusta in Chile.

The company, which is one of Spain's largest
engineering and construction firms, employs 28,000
people. Last year, it had a turnover of £3.45bn.

It is also involved in car park management and
telecommunications services.

"Ferrovial is giving us some benchmarking data - so we
can learn from what the other airports in the group
are doing. There are some areas where we are doing
very well and other areas where some of the group is
doing better. So, we can use some of their ideas.

"Ferrovial has already invested £35m in the purchase
of the airport and have just spent £5m resurfacing the
runway. They are a very profitable corporation and
will continue to invest if there is a business case
for it."

Route development is another priority for Mr Ambrose,
and he admits he's disappointed that there's no direct
international services from the City Airport.

He's keen to see direct services to Paris and Brussels
for business and leisure passengers.

"We are talking to airlines about those sorts of
opportunities. I think direct services to Europe will
come, but it is a limited market."

Only a few weeks into the job, it seems that Brian
Ambrose is on course to engineer a significant role
for BCA within Ferrovial's portfolio.

While some of the plans are still up in the air, the
new chief executive aims to pilot the airport to new
heights.
 

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