Interview With Phil Forster - Teesside Airport
For a long time, Teesside International struggled to stay afloat amid intense competition from other northern airports and all manner of other operational issues. Thankfully this fabulous regional air hub has seen its fortunes change for the better since it was acquired by Tees Valley Combined Authority and Teesside Airport Foundation in 2019. Following this bold move, which was spurred by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, the airport has undergone a truly remarkable transformation.
Nobody has been more instrumental in taking Teesside from strength to strength than its Managing Director, Mr. Phil Forster. As a long-time partner and friend of One World Travel, Phil kindly agreed to sit down with our team to share his insight with us and our clients. Here is a snippet of our exclusive discussion…
Phil, thank you so much for taking some time out of your hectic work schedule to chat to us today. I wonder if you could start by telling One World Travel’s clients a bit about your background in the aviation industry.
I started off at Newcastle Airport, where I spent a few years working with media communication and public relations. After that I spent some time down at Leeds-Bradford. There I was more involved with the operational and aeronautical side of things, which prepared me well for when the opportunity arose to join what was then called ‘Tees Valley Airport’. Initially I served as the commercial director, before ultimately taking the Managing Director position.
You’re obviously done a terrific job of running Teesside International Airport in the last few years. Broadly speaking, what has the strategy been to revitalise the airport, and going forward what’s your vision for making it competitive with other hubs in the region?
Our initial focus was on what we called “giving the airport its identity back”. We want Teesside to be recognised as a superb airport that is both convenient and efficient for travellers. We’ve invested heavily in carrying out a full terminal refurbishment, modernising facilities, promoting ourselves to new airlines and enhancing the overall level of customer service throughout the airport.
In many ways we’re like the ‘new kid on the block’. We need to find new ways to entice the airlines and tell them why they should work with us. We’re surrounded by two very successful airports on either side - Leeds-Bradford and Newcastle. Clearly successful airlines have grown at those two hubs. We must make sure domestic and international carriers and passengers know what we can offer.
One of our biggest advantages, which is absolutely on trend, is the level of sustainability we offer. We have a car park at the front of the airport, the whole thing is on one level, solar-powered steps, electric GPUs. We’re planning to do a whole lot more in that regard. Additionally, there clearly needs to be good commercial deals on the table, as well as a good catchment. When you look at where we’re situated, we’ve got the A19 and the A1 either side of us, joined by the A66. We’ve got 5.2 million living within a 90-min drive. So that gives us a big target market to aim at.
Amongst the many unique selling points that Teesside International Airport has, the Sky Bar seems to be a big hit with our clients…
Yes, our Sky Bar has been a big hit. Whether you are travelling through our airport or just passing through the area and fancy calling in for a pint, you get to enjoy the amazing views of the runway. We also do a lot of different events at the Sky Bar. It’s a great choice of venue in that regard too.
We’re always looking at new upgrades that can take our airport to the next level. From a business perspective, airport terminals have a lot of similarities to shopping malls. There are plenty of different ways to generate revenue. Not only that but the more time people spending enjoying their experience at our airport then the more likely they are to recommend it.
Under your leadership the airport has gained all sorts of positive recognition, including being crowned UK & Irish Airport of the Year 2023 at the TTG Travel Industry Awards. Presumably though you’ve had to overcome some challenges along the way…
It goes without saying that it’s been an extremely difficult few years for us, and indeed every other airport in the world. Thankfully the pandemic era is behind us, but we’re not fully out of the woods yet with everything we need to overcome. The cost-of-living crisis is still affecting consumer demand here in Britain. Then there’s everything else that’s happening in the world such as the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, which is putting a huge increase on the cost of fuel and not helping airlines either. And, as always, the threat of terrorism is there.
Sam and Phil with the Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen.
Can you tell One World Travel clients who haven’t yet flown from Teesside a bit about the current travel options they have here and some potential new routes that are in the pipeline?
Our airport used to just have Amsterdam and Aberdeen, but now we’ve got things like Tui doing twice weekly to Mallorca. We’ve also got flights going out to Dalaman and we’re in discussions about whether we can add to that. There are many great low-cost options from Teesside. We have Ryanair doing Alicante, Corfu, Faroe, and Mallorca, three-weekly in the Winter and still going well.
It’s no secret we are trying to get Malaga and Tenerife routes established. We also want more options for Turkey and Cyprus. These things won’t happen overnight of course, but we are in quite advanced discussions. I’m really hoping to be able to announce some exciting new developments in the very near future.
One Word Travel, particularly through our nearby Yarm branch, have certainly been massive supporters of your airport. Is it fair to say that having strong working relationships with travel agents has played a key part in Teesside International Airports’ success in recent times.
Agents play a huge role in taking the airport forward as a business. Really, we rely on partners like yourselves to sell our services to new and repeat customers from around the region. It’s up to us to keep working hard to create more opportunities and options for your clients.
I know that One World has consistently promoted Teesside – both a fantastic local airport for traveller from the Yarm area, and as a great alternative for clients from other parts of Yorkshire. I can’t understate how much we value our travel agent partnerships. My team and I are always available to provide support and to collaborate with you!
The entire team at One World Travel would no doubt completely agree with you on the importance of our commercial relationship. I also know that you and your organisation share our belief in supporting the local community…
I think I can speak on behalf of all the staff at Teesside International Airport when I say that we are absolutely committed to having a positive impact on the economic regeneration of the region. I think it’s important to say that the jobs not done yet and we’re not fully there yet. I’ll never say we’re “there”. When this airport gets to solid profitability and over a million passengers per year, I will be thinking “right, how do we make a million pounds of extra profit and get two million passengers?”. You need to keep having the drive. That’s not just because of my own personal goals and ambitions, it’s also because I know that the airport can be a huge generator of revenue the area. Our success will create more jobs, attract investment, bring more inbound tourism and a whole range of other indirect economic benefits.
You must travel a lot yourself, for business trips, personal holidays and so on. What are your favourite destinations and what is your top travel tip?
My favourite place to go with my family is the United States, particularly Florida. You can’t beat Disneyland, but there are plenty of other amazing places in the state to visit too. I just got back from a business trip in Miami last week and I can’t fault it at all. We also like our holidays in Spain. Last year we went to Alcudia (from Teesside Airport of course!) and we’re going back to Mallorca again this year.
My number one travel tip: I don’t think you can go wrong with booking through a travel agent. Sure, there is this thing called the “world wide web” but you want to make sure that everything’s done properly for you. Not only do you want to put back into the local economy, but you also want to know what type of holiday you’re going on and know that you’re being taken care of properly. If you’re going on holiday you’re going to relax and spend your hard-earned money. You don’t want to be like “where do you get this, what do you do about this,” you want it to be done for you!
We’ll look forward to you announcing new flight routes from Teesside to Florida soon then!
Don’t quote me on that! Of course, we’d all love that to happen. We’re offering a great service to airlines, and I’ll certainly continue to do my part to make sure that we’re considered by carriers from all around the world. We’re always open to new opportunities and you never know…
