Gatwick link planned for Liverpool's John Lennon Airport

Dec 26 2007 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL’S John Lennon Airport is in “advanced talks” with an airline over re-establishing a London air link from the region, the Daily Post can reveal.

Gatwick Airport is now the most likely London destination for the new air link, JLA bosses say.

They have been talking to “several operators” about re-establishing a Capital connection, six months after VLM axed its three-year-old service between Liverpool and London’s City airport.

At the time, VLM cited falling passengers numbers as being behind its decision to pull out of JLA, although business leaders said alterations to VLM’s timetable earlier in the year had made the flights less convenient.

Both JLA and Liverpool City Council ideally want to establish a flight into London Heathrow, which could then serve both London-bound business travellers and people wishing to travel to international destinations not served by Liverpool airport.

But the high price of slots into Heathrow means it is unlikely, in the short-term at least, that any airline would be prepared to start flying between London and Liverpool, when more money can be made by adding an international destination instead.

A flight into Gatwick is now more likely, the airport said. That would still offer connections to dozens of international destinations, and is just over 30 minutes from central London by train.

A spokesman for JLA said: “We are in discussion with several airlines at the moment over a London flight, which we see as a priority for the airport.

“The discussions are at an advanced stage with one of the operators.

“Gatwick serves many destinations that we don’t, and it would provide an excellent way of opening up Liverpool and the region to more visitors.

“ It would also provide easy access to London, which is becoming increasingly important.”

The gradual demise of the VLM flight coincided with the upgrade of the West Coast mainline for rail passengers.

Travel times between London and Liverpool will be slashed to just two hours this year, with Virgin also promising longer trains.

However, with walk-on fares for first class now costing up to £300, and standard fares over £200, air industry networks believe there is the market for a competitor to Virgin from JLA.

JLA declined to reveal which operators it was in discussion with, but several of its current operators already fly into Gatwick.

They include easyjet – which recently bought GB Airways, which flies European routes on behalf of British Airways – and Flybe, which is due to return to Liverpool to offer flights to the Isle of Man. It operates to six destinations from Gatwick.

Ryanair, currently locked in a battle with easyjet to be Liverpool’s biggest airline, also operates out of Gatwick, currently only to Irish destinations.

British Airways has also been linked to flying from Liverpool to London, and has refused to rule a future move out.

City leaders continue to say a London air link is vital for Liverpool.

Chief executive of Liverpool’s Chamber of Commerce Jack Stopforth, said: “A London air link has a psychological value as well as a business benefit to the city.”

OPINION: PAGE 8

davidhiggerson