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1. Subject: BALTIC BIRD Workshop on WP 3 & 5.1 in Karlstad
2. Begin: 25.03.2014 11:00
3. End: 26.03.2014 14:00
4. Location: Karlstad, Sweden
5. Description: The agenda covers final results of the Airport Marketing Toolbox and Pilot Case (WP 5.1) and an expert speech on local private/public air transport initiatives (WP 3). Furthermore, administrative issues of the prolongation phase as well as the next project steps will be presented. Therefore it is important that all partners and associated organizations participate, respectively are able to send a representative.

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Information Manager:

CONVIS Consult & Marketing GmbH
Margaretenstraße 10
14193 Berlin
DE
Jean-Christophe Binetti
E-mail: binetti@convis.com
Phone: 0049 (0) 30 89 04 169 31
Fax: 0049 (0) 30 89 04 169 69

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Summary description of the project:

Peripheral Baltic Sea regions have been characterized by depopulation and weak socio-economic conditions. These trends are contrary to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), VASAB and the integrated territorial development of the EU (see Art. 3 (2c) of the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006 and Art. 6 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006). Although train and ferry connections exist, only airside quality accessibility is the key to change the current situation and to bring employers, investors and market demands to the remote regions. Being aware of the interrelation between socio economic development and accessibility, 21 regional authorities, airports, economic development agencies and transport institutes from 8 Baltic countries incl. Norway as well as 5 international airlines have established a trans-national partnership to work on efficient, effective and viable air transport connections for peripheral regions to improve airside accessibility as well as regional

competitiveness (more job opportunities and growing economic prosperity) of peripheral Baltic Sea regions in an economic and sustainable way.

The large and experienced partnership has established new flight connections to peripheral areas by a trans-nationally developed and applied specific set of instruments, such as: Air Transport Passenger Market Analysis, Airport Marketing Concept, Public Service Obligations Manual, Tourism Destination Development Guidelines. Based on a best practice approach, those instruments were jointly developed and implemented during the project execution. The BALTIC BIRD (BB) partnership also analysed how to reduce extensive detours flights via Oslo and Stockholm to the benefit of less fuel consuming direct flights, connecting locations in the northern part of Norway, Sweden and Finland while reducing CO2 footprint.

BB partnership also worked on better interconnectivity combining airside transportation with sustainable individual public transport services

to/from airports to reduce individual transport share. By involving Lead Partner (LP) of IV B BSR project BalticAirCargo.net, joint cargo and PAX market activities could be bundled with stronger impact on new flight connections/better accessibility in BSR. Further clustering activities were executed over the borders of the BSR program by integrating LP’s airport of IV B Central Europe “CHAMPIONS” project as well as LP from South Baltic IV A “South Baltic Global Access” (SBGA) project. As those projects followed a similar approach, BB was able to use elaborated and available approaches, structures and instruments for a more effective project work.

A joint policy framework paper was developed and submitted to DG Regio/DG MOVE proposing ideas for improvement in EU regional policy for peripheral BSR. By this cluster approach partners from different INTERREG regions (BSR, South Baltic, CE) were able to actively participate in EU policy on regional development and accessibility.

Achievements of the project so far:

With the aim to enhance the regions’ competitiveness, BALTIC BIRD (BB) developed efficient and viable flight connections for peripheral Baltic Sea regions. New routes mean faster accessibility to and from Europe’s economic centers as well as an increase in economic and social integration. The transnational project group worked jointly on the following most essential activities and outputs to the benefit of the target groups:

• Route-specific passenger (PAX) potential analyses reflect the current and future travel demands of people to/from BSR and investigate the demand potential existing to inaugurate air services in the forthcoming schedule periods. Airports in remote BSR as well as the public benefit from new flight routes resulting from the analyses giving them better access to business and social life. Airports and regions used the analysis for approaching airlines (e. g. participating in Routes Europe Conference, contacting airlines with business cases). Based on that several new

scheduled and charter flight connections from partner airports to national or international airports could be established.

• BB group has worked on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOTs) regarding current and future linkage of their public transport services (PTS) with airport/air transport. Best-practices of airport interconnectivity in peripheral and agglomerated BSR have been identified. Together with the SWOTs they have been integrated into the elaboration of strategic options for innovative PTS solutions to enhance airport interconnectivity. Because information was identified as a major success factor for enhancing interconnectivity the regional airport in Joensuu invested into PAX information screen so that frequency of bus connections could be enhanced. This facilitation of the use of PTS when accessing BSR airports lead to reductions of emission of greenhouse gases per departing/arriving PAX by lowering individual traffic to/from airports.

• BB has developed a

strategy toolbox which project partners (PP) and regional airports in the BSR use stimulating inauguration of routes to/from the BSR with medium or low PAX potentials such as airport marketing strategies referring to experiences/needs of involved airports/airlines. This offers better skills and knowledge for airports improving their regional accessibility. A pilot-project was executed to implement the airport marketing strategy of "Two airports Acting as One Destination" to attract airlines to set up new flight routes. Transnational knowledge exchange has led to tourism destination concepts utilizing regional tourism potential and increasing perception of remote BSR as destinations. Application guidelines for Public Service Obligations (PSO) & Route Development Funds (RDF) have equipped regions with knowledge how to encourage airlines to operate non-economically viable flight routes. In addition the BSR regions are now better aware of the regional economic impact of such flight routes.

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