Possible new air route

[Chancer]

The Maire of our commune actually overcome his fear and spoke to me for the first time this morning at the defilée after some 3 years in office, he told me that a deal was in the process of being signed for flights between Durham Teeside Airport and the Aeroport Albert Picardie, I dont know at this stage if it is with Flybe or Ryanair.

Flights were due to start a couple of years ago with Jet2 from Leeds Bradford, they sold tickets but due to la crise the inaugaral flights were reported a couple of times and then cancelled completley.

I knew that something was on the cards as they have recently and in almost total secrecy built a second terminal despite the fact that the first one has yet to welcome its first passenger.

Our International airport has only 7 employees and looks like a ghost town, the new terminal looks surreal with all the empty parking spaces, the pic-nic tables and benches and a 56 seater coach outside gathering dust as is the navette for the first terminal.

Still better to spend EU funds on that than buying all the farmers in the village who no longer have any land to farm new tractors every year [:P]

[ericd]

Interesting news Chancer. Where do you flight to within France from Albert Picardie???

[Chancer]

Nowhere Eric!

That is unless you are a nez d'avion made in our factory in which case you will fly to the Airbus Toulouse together with 5 others in the hold of the Beluga.

Or you can be towed up in a glider and soar around for a while, not today though.

You could get the bus into town or to Amiens or Arras except that there arent any.

If you walk for about 10km you will stumble acroos the Gare TGV Haute Picardie (the gare des bettaraves) where you will finally be able to link up with civilisation, all the TGV's stop there, they have done for 20 years its just no-one gets on or off.

It is all part of a masterplan for this pole d'industriale to have a liason ferroviare, fluviale, autoroute and airline, its just that things take their time here in the betteraves!

 

[ericd]

And me who thought I could fly off to down further south close to Albi..........Is there no connection between airport and TGV station????....how comical... !

[Chancer]

They might possibly use one of the new coaches if ever they get any tourists.

I am at the moment researching how I could get myself down to Cassis without using the railway, it seems impossible.

I dont actually think that there are any national coach companies in France, Eurolines web site is useless (par for the French course) it lists gares yet they dont appear as departures or destination, in fact you can only find info on taking a coach to another country.

I have lived here over 5 years and there are CAP buses everywhere but usually parked up throughout the day, pehaps they only transport schoolkids I dont know but I have never been able to find a timetable or list of destinations let alone a bus/coach stop.

There are a couple of taxi's in town but again never an advert or bill-board with their phone number, most people use the ambulances as they are cheaper.

[sid]

We've had visitors travel to us on Eurolines from London. As far as we're aware the coaches usually stop outside the railway stations in the various listed destination towns, so nearest to us that's Poitiers or Niort. But we were surprised to find that in fact for Niort they stop at the peage station at J11 on A83 !! The coach just comes off the motorway and turns round at the peage, drops off the passengers, and scoots back onto the motorway again. There is nothing at the peage, no shelter or anything, and more importantly no public transport, and it's about 8kms to the centre of town. All a bit bizarre. When we've collected people there is usually a flurry of activity as other cars turn up to pick up freinds or family.

[Iceni]

sid - you shouldn't post things like this, it will give Michael O'Ryanair ideas.

John

 

[Loiseau]

Chancer, some friends of mine in the Vendee were telling me about a young friend who had been staying with them, and then wanted to go to Toulouse. She said that she went on a "covoiturage" website and found several people about to drive that route who were offering to take a passenger.

There is some kind of deal that the passenger pays a contribution towards the petrol; it's all very upfront. The lad got to Toulouse for about 20 or 30 euros I think.

I suppose it's sort of electronic hitchhiking.!

Angela

EDIT This must be the site http://www.covoiturage.fr/

[idun]

I wonder why Durham Tees Valley, airline seems to be abandoning it.

There is a charge of an extra £6 for adults using the airport and a lesser one for kids, well, that is what I remember from NE news the other night. None of which helps ofcourse.

Must say it would suit me if a few more airlines started to fly in and out again.