Multi-hub model boost for airport
DURHAM Tees Valley Airport will become increasingly important as consolidation in the aviation industry forces more carriers to adopt a multi-hub model, the boss of one of the most powerful airlines said yesterday.
Sitting in the airport’s plush business travellers’ lounge - through which pass more than 50% of passengers on its 21-flights-a-week service to Amsterdam - Christine Ourmieres, general manager for Air France KLM, said: “We believe in regional airports. We were one of the first regional carriers in the UK and we have remained loyal to them. We see no reason to change.”
AFKLM, which has flown out of the Tees Valley for 20 years, was in the vanguard of adopting a hub-based network in 2003. Much criticised at the time, it was now the only way forward for those airlines that were to survive savage consolidation in the industry, said Mrs Ourmieres.
“Regional airports are a fantastic opportunity when they are connected to major hubs - such as Amsterdam and Paris. Hub systems optimise the flows. We believe it is also better for the environment. You have less volumes of flights, but passengers can travel to more destinations.”
She said others, such as BA, which focuses services on major routes, such as the North Atlantic were more vulnerable. Referring to 9/11 she said: “If the North Atlantic is impacted, it has a big impact on the rest of the network.”
While AFKLM had ‘no immediate plans to introduce more services to Durham Tees Valley’, she said the carrier remained ‘committed to maintaining services on Teesside’.
Kerry Quinn, airport director, said regional airports were crucial to the local economy and called for an end the ‘London-centric’ approach to airport planning.
“It should be about taking London out to the regions,” she said.
“People in this region love the opportunity of opening up to a hub. Business travellers absolutely need it. From every angle, the region needs KLM and KLM needs regional airports.”
Ms Ourmieres declined to comment on speculation that AFKLM would bid for Alitalia which passed the deadline yesterday for bids to keep it in the air.
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