Cardiff airport still has the cheek to call itself International. Although living very close I can count on one hand the number of times I have used it. Far more choice from Bristol and Heathrow.

Yes but now you have more choice. Just what Cardiff needs.I've used it a lot...flown to Canada,Thailand, US, France from it...so its fair to call it international. Its not a bad little airport...just a bit tricky to get too. Same can be said for Bristol as well...and scarier parking prices.

And of course Heathrow has got more choice...just like it has over every other UK airport.

Cardiff is a brillliant airport, much nicer than Bristol. But there again, I am biased as it is only 15 mins drive from my home.

This can only be good news for Cardiff and the Welsh!!

Helen

i love flying from cardiff it is more relaxed and friendly than other airports who treat you like a cattle market, it is a pity that they don't do long haul flights to places like the carribean, a travel agent told us that about 2 years ago thomson tried long haul from cardiff but there was no call for it and ended up selling holidays to the dom rep at vastly redused prices , i don't recall anything about this from cardiff.

Being from South Wales and a regular user of CWL, wanted to start a post about Cardiff Airport.
Post your opinions, thoughts, experiences anything relevant!
Due to big plans apparently in the pipeline, be interesting to see what people think of the airport as it is.

Things are looking up for Cardiff:

- Bmi baby basing 3rd 737
- Thomson basing 2 aircraft and another 3 days a wk for Long-haul
- Zoom extending its winter schedule as well as introducing Vancouver service in May.
- Excel starting through summer season
- Air Southwest starting Newquay - Cardiff - Manchester
- Alphaone (Our own little Richard Branson) starting Southampton - Cardiff - Isle of Man

As well as other extention programs from First choice, atlantic and possible Air Wales new routes.

Also numerous plans flying about for the terminal.

Go Cardiff!!

Cardiff airport is a great little airport and the best thing about it is that is only 15 mins drive from my house.

But we are restricted as to which destinations we can fly to - if you are looking to fly off for a city break, eg Rome or Barcelona you have to travel to Bristol. So we need someone like Easyjet to come to Cardiff so we have more choice of destinations. Or Ryanair (who at the moment only fly to Dublin from Cardiff - got flights last year for 1p each + taxes!).

I note the comments about Excel and Thomsons - but have you see their prices - hardly what I'd call low-cost........

Just booked flights with bmibaby at Easter to Palma, worked out at about £140 return each, suppose that's not bad for school hols and it's worth it to know I can be in my house about 45 mins after landing.

It would be good if Bmibaby would open up a few more routes from Cardiff for city breaks and the like..I guess they would have if they felt the local market could take it. Amsterdam is on the agenda but is already served from Cardiff...suppose it might make KLM more competitive and once you get to Schipol you can get anywhere you fancy.

As for Thomsons and Excel from Cardiff...well it could mean some good late deals will be available.

I think BMI must be planning something. Talk was of Cardiff aiming for more european destinations. I cant see them putting another aircraft in to cover their existing routes or to add 1 or 2 more. See what happens.

This thomson low-cost thing is aiming at the people that just want the flight i think, they were more known for their packages and not many people used the flight only. Probably just a marketing thing.

Be aware that if you fly KLM in Dec, Jan or Feb from Cardiff to connect with another flight in Schipol and there is snow in Amsterdam then your flight will be cancelled. It happened to me a few years ago, and we had to return home to rebook flights and hotels, eventually flying from London 2 days later. It was sooo much hassle.

I was told by a number of business travellers that the 6.30 am flight is often cancelled. Those small planes cannot cope with bad weather and unfortunately it often snows in Amsterdam.

I too live within 15 mins of Cardiff airport and agree that it is a nice little airport but sadly find I am rarely able to use it.

The other problem with flying via Schipol is that the gates can be an enormous distance apart. I have both missed a connection and mislaid luggage when flying from Cardiff to Munich and arriving slightly late.

'Airport plans for £100m extension'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4854378.stm

After having yet another flight from Amsterdam to Cardiff cancelled - the third in the last few years - i'm now convinced that if all the Cardiff passengers can fit on the Bristol flight, that's where they go. On friday I returned overnight business class from JFK to discover that I couldn't get to Cardiff.

When it happens, all the Cardiff passengers mysteriously manage to fit on the Bristol plane. The announcement always comes quite late - like less than 40 minutes before departure. They must save a lot of money by doing this and bussing passengers from Bristol to CWL. This must be my 3rd cancelled flight out of about 7 flights.

As a result, I will not be fooled by CWL being an international airport again. If I want ground transfer, I'll go to LHR.

Have to agree with you. Dunno why they're bothering with an extension and saying they need better road links (so few flights the roads are dead quiet around there). They need more flights heading to new destinations (yes, I know we've had 1 or 2 new ones this year) and most of all they need to reduce their landing fees. Until they do this no major airlines are going to use Cardiff.
Anybody know which days the Verona flights from Cardiff are?? Today's paper say they fly there but I can't find any details.

Is there anywhere you can get a decent breakfast at Cardiff airport ?

We're flying at 9.15am but have declined the flight meals because they're a rip off.

Hi
You can get breakfast in the airport before you go through to departures but I dont know about decent??......?????

As a result, I will not be fooled by CWL being an international airport again. If I want ground transfer, I'll go to LHR.

Firstly....
Its the airline that cancels the flight, not the airport. BMI Baby now fly to Amsterdam, so if you dont like KLM fly with bmi.

Have to agree with you. Dunno why they're bothering with an extension and saying they need better road links (so few flights the roads are dead quiet around there).

Secondly....
To attract the airlines the airport has to be extended to make it more passenger and plane friendly. The road links makes it easier for passengers to access, meaning more people will be willing to fly from Cardiff, meaning airlines will fill more planes.

They need more flights heading to new destinations (yes, I know we've had 1 or 2 new ones this year) Until they do this no major airlines are going to use Cardiff.

Considering bmi baby, Zoom, Air Southwest, Aer Arann, Eastern airways and Excel announcing new routes or based aircraft at Cardiff, not to mention Thomson going from 1 aircraft to 2 based and 1 part based. In just one year i think this is pretty impressive considering the size of the airport.
The airlines wont come unless the passengers are there. Wales isnt as populated as say Manchester or London, so growth can only come at a small pace.

Its not difficult to work all this out.

There's also been a press release by flyglobespan about their new Long-haul flights to USA and further, where Cardiff was also mentioned

Has anyone eaten in The Echo music bar at either Cardiff or Bristol airport ?

I've downloaded the menu from the airport's site which looks quite nice.

Never heard of it - are you on commission from them by any chance?