LCY/LGW/LHR/LTN/SEN/STN | London Area Airports

[Rational Plan]

Managed to dig through Hillingdon's planning portal to find some details.

I'll post the original plans first.





















If you look at the plans yea a nice open plaza, but where is the car park?

Well the revised plans are in.

Like Terminal 5 we now have a huge car park in front of the Terminal. Like T5 there is a still a big long plaza with bridges crossing between the Terminal and the car park. Arrival will be on the ground floor and Departures on the top. A new multi level road system will reduce conflicts towards Terminal 3 and reduce the number of traffic lights for people leaving the CTA.

This space has been created by demolishing the old Control Tower.









The new plaza will be built in phases like the Terminal.

[Langur]

Here are recent images of Norman Foster's massive new Heathrow East under construction. I took these photos on the 27th April from the window of my Emirates A380:

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[PortoNuts]

Heathrow unveils Terminal 5 satellite

Heathrow has opened its new satellite terminal T5C, allowing an extra three million British Airways customers to access Terminal 5 via an air bridge each year.

The £340 million satellite section of T5 has 12 boarding gates, of which eight are triple bridges which are crafted to cope with the new fleet of 12 Airbus A380s which BA will take delivery of in 2013. BA says that as T5C sits closer to the other terminals at the airport, it will give the airline greater flexibility in managing its 4000 flights a week. There is also a new dedicated transfer baggage tunnel which links T5C with Terminal 3, which is due to open in 2012.

British Airways director of operations Andy Lord said: “We know how much our customers love flying through Terminal 5 and our operations continue to break performance records on a regular basis.

“Terminal 5 has transformed our ability to offer the very highest standards of customer service which our passengers rightly expect for punctuality, baggage handling and relaxing before their flight. We hope that T5C will improve our overall performance even further.”

T5C is linked to the rest of Terminal 5 by the existing underground transit system, with journeys taking just over a minute.

http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1147926.php

[PortoNuts]

Heathrow Passenger Total Jumps on BRIC Routes, Royal Wedding

London Heathrow airport’s passenger total jumped 11.6 percent to 5.9 million in May and the 12-month figure breached 68 million for the first time, spurred by routes to emerging markets and visitors for Britain’s royal wedding.

Numbers rose 82 percent last month on flights to Brazil, where British Airways added a dedicated service to Sao Paulo in March, with Russia posting a 19 percent gain, Heathrow owner BAA Ltd. said. The April 29 wedding of Prince William, second in line to the British throne, lifted traffic as people flew home.

Passenger numbers at BAA’s six U.K. airports rose 9.2 percent last month versus a year earlier, when hundreds of flights were canceled after a volcanic blowout in Iceland and strikes at BA, the company said in a statement today. A fresh eruption last month didn’t close Heathrow, while Edinburgh, which did shut temporarily, still posted a record spring total.

“Demand is particularly strong on the long-haul routes that connect U.K. businesses to fast-growing economies around the world,” BAA Chief Executive Officer Colin Matthews said today.

Heathrow, Europe’s busiest hub, also reaped a 9.5 percent increase in traffic to China and a 5.4 percent gain to India, aided by people transiting to onward destinations, BAA said. Nick Cullen, the airport’s chief operating officer since February 2010, has resigned, it added, without saying why.

Stansted Boost

Passenger numbers at London Stansted, dominated by budget carriers such as Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA), showed the first back-to- back monthly advance since October 2007, with tourist travel lifted by return trips from the Easter holidays, which fell in late April, in addition to the royal nuptials. Still, volumes there are down 4 percent for the year to date as discount carriers shift flights to continental Europe, BAA said.

Excluding the impact of last year’s volcanic ash cloud, Heathrow passenger numbers rose 5.2 percent in May and added 2.7 percent over the first five months. For the group as a whole, underlying growth stands at 1.7 percent in 2011, BAA said.

This year’s eruption “led only to a marginal decrease in traffic,” said BAA, a unit of Spanish construction group Ferrovial SA. (FER) While the ash grounded hundreds of flights at European airports including BAA’s Edinburgh and Glasgow terminals, last year’s event halted more than 100,000.

Heathrow COO Cullen will be replaced by Technical Standards and Assurance Director Terry Morgan until a permanent appointment is made, BAA said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...edding-1-.html

Busiest ever year for London Heathrow

London Heathrow welcomed over 68 million passengers in the past 12 months, making it the busiest year in the airport’s history. The achievement crowned a strong period for airport operator BAA, which recorded a total of 9.3 million passengers in May.

Heathrow’s passenger numbers grew by 11.6 per cent when compared to May 2010 (which was affected by volcanic ash and industrial action at British Airways).

Accounting for these impacts leaves Heathrow with an estimated underlying 5.2 per cent increase for the month of May. For the year to date Heathrow’s traffic is up 9.8 per cent with underlying growth of 2.7 per cent.

However, the record is unlikely to be significantly bettered in the near-term, with the British coalition government ruling out the possibility of a third runway at London Heathrow for the foreseeable future.

BAA Traffic

Traffic at the group’s six airports increased by 9.2 per cent over last May.

The late Easter holidays and Royal Wedding led to more passengers at the beginning of the month whereas the Grímsvötn eruption in Iceland led only to a marginal decrease in traffic. Stripping out the negative effects of events in 2010, the group recorded underlying growth of 1.7 per cent in the year to date.

Both Edinburgh and Aberdeen recorded double digit increases in the month (13.7 per cent and 11.8 per cent respectively) with underlying growth for the year to date of 6.9 per cent and seven per cent respectively.

Traffic at Glasgow increased seven per cent in May 2011 whilst the underlying growth for the year to date was 1.3 per cent.

Stansted saw its second consecutive monthly rise (0.7 per cent) for the first time since October 2007, although on a year to date basis the underlying decline is four per cent, reflecting the transfer of capacity by low-cost airlines to continental Europe. Southampton’s traffic was down 1.1 per cent in the month, and down seven per cent on an underlying year to date basis, largely as a result of a drop in European scheduled traffic.

Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, said: “Demand is particularly strong on the long-haul routes that connect UK businesses to fast-growing economies around the world.”

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/ne...ndon-heathrow/

[poshbakerloo]

Has this even been thought of?

Sipson is saved, a very small amount of demolition is required (if any) and Heathrow gets its 3rd runway (2900m/1.8Miles)...

The reservoirs are not filled in, just bridged...
One end of the runway is a field and M25, the other end is a Tesco, so noise in peoples homes is lower...

[Jim856796]

A runway proposal like that would destroy destroy those reservoirs. Despite the terminal reorganisation, I doubt Heathrow will be getting a third runway anytime soon.

[PortoNuts]

Heathrow Airport unveils unprecedented summer advertising blitz

London Heathrow Airport is launching an unprecedented advertising campaign to target the 9.2 million families and leisure passengers set to pass through the capital city’s airport during the ‘great summer getaway’.

The airport is gearing up for a record summer with more than 13.6 million travellers expected to pass through Heathrow during July and August. Forecasts suggest that Sunday 31 July will be the busiest day on record, with an estimated 246,020 passengers.

The two-pronged campaign will not only raise awareness of Heathrow’s ‘family-friendly’ services and facilities for people leaving the country but also champion its retail offering and the savings that can be made by buying at the airport.

Using the tag line ‘See it in London, Buy it at Heathrow’, the retail campaign will target the hundreds of thousands of inbound tourists who fly to the UK through Heathrow. It will see Heathrow launch its first ever multi-lingual advertisements to highlight the savings available at the airport compared to the capital’s West End stores.


...

http://www.moodiereport.com/document...6&doc_id=27851

[aqeembayor]

any latest pics of heathrow east? is it the whole thing that supposed to be completed by 2012 or is it just the 1st phase?

[Jim856796]

That's just the first phase and it will be completed in 2014 at the earliest.

[PortoNuts]

Monarch launches new Gatwick to Barcelona flights

Monarch Airlines has announced the launch of up to 11 flights a week from Gatwick to Barcelona this October.

The new route brings the total number of scheduled destinations served by the airline from the West Sussex hub to 13.

From 21 October flights will depart once a day increasing to 11 flights a week from 30 October onwards.

Kevin George, managing director of Monarch, said Barcelona is one of the most popular short break destinations for UK travellers.

'Barcelona attracts a broad mix of visitors for business, city breaks and leisure for beach goers,' he remarked.

'All of these customers will appreciate the convenience and flexibility of up to 11 flights per week in addition to Monarch's fantastic value fares and innovative build your own class service.'

Monarch Airlines also operates flights from Birmingham, London Luton and Manchester, to destinations in countries such as Portugal, Turkey, Egypt, Greece and Cyprus.

http://news.opodo.co.uk/NewsDetails/...celona_flights

[PortoNuts]

London Luton fastest growing Airport in 2011

London Luton Airport is the fastest growing major airport in the London area – and is second only to Heathrow for business travel as a percentage of total passenger numbers. Official figures show that for the first 6 months of 2011, passenger numbers increased by 11.3% and the latest figures show that in 2010 19% of passengers were business travellers.

Driving this growth has been the Airport’s excellent Airline partner performance, easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air and Monarch all recording positive growth and launching new routes.

With one year to go, the Airport was also recently announced by the Mayor of London as one of 35 locations to host Olympic London Ambassadors. The Airport is expected to be a significant transport hub for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, welcoming travelling athletes and guests attending the events. London Luton’s close proximity to London and excellent rail link to St Pancras International will make it one of the fastest and most convenient gateways to the Games.

Glyn Jones, Managing Director of London Luton, said, “We are very pleased with the substantial increase in the number of passengers choosing to fly via London Luton. We have worked hard at listening to our customers, focusing on their requirements for modern day travel and investing in creating the optimum in fast, value for money travel in and out of London and north towards the Midlands.”

http://www.incentivetravel.co.uk/air...irport-in-2011

[swe]

Nice pics. LHR has reached its maximum slot capacity, as stated above, and LGW is almost at max. Its single operating runway is a major obstacle for further growth (it has two but mainly uses one).

[gramercy]

http://www.archdaily.com/162741/fost...tuary-airport/

[Metrocracy]

really like the new LHR T3

[Metrocracy]

LHR in 1973



http://www.airliners.net/photo/Scand...71b672d34419ba

[PortoNuts]

British Airways to move into £73m Gatwick extension

A £73 million extension to Gatwick’s North Terminal will house all British Airways services at the airport. The expanded terminal will allow passengers to do more for themselves, from checking-in and choosing seats to printing their own baggage tags.

BA customer service staff will be on hand to help passengers use the self-service kiosks and baggage podiums. Dedicated ‘care desks’ will be available to travellers needing additional help plus a designated customer service area for premium passengers.

More than 4.5 million passengers fly on BA services to and from Gatwick every year to 45 domestic, European and long haul destinations. The first new route to operate from the new terminal will be a Mauritius service which moves to Gatwick from Heathrow on November 1.

BA’s Gatwick managing director Silla Maizey said: “We know that many of our customers appreciate the opportunity to do more for themselves, like self-service check-in, choosing seats and printing their own boarding cards - and for the first time British Airways passengers will be able to print their own bag tags.

“We’re giving them the freedom to be in control, but with the knowledge that our customer service staff will be on hand if they need them.”

Airport chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “Our £1.2 billion investment programme to transform the airport experience for passengers, reducing queues and delivering a smoother check-in experience with more self-service options has been one of our key priorities.

“The new British Airways check-in area, which is part of our £73 million investment to extend the North Terminal arrivals area, is a fantastic example of innovation and is evidence that they, like Gatwick, are putting the emphasis on delivering excellent customer service for the passenger.”

Wingate officially opened the extension on October 13 with BA chief executive Keith Williams.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articl...extension.html

[PortoNuts]

Heathrow sees record passenger numbers in September

The UK’s busiest airport, London Heathrow, saw passenger numbers grow by 1.4 per cent in September, latest figures show. In total, 6,310,900 passengers flew in or out of London Heathrow in September, a 1.4 per cent increase on the same month last year. In August, 6.6 million passengers flew in or out of Heathrow, up by 0.7 per cent on August 2010.

The North Atlantic routes continued to be the fastest-growing market with a 3.5 per cent increase in passengers; there has been a 5.4 per cent increase in flights to North American destinations such as New York and Chicago from the airport over the last year. For example, US airline Delta started flying direct to Detroit from London Heathrow this summer.

Colin Matthews, Chief Executive of BAA, which owns Heathrow said that despite the economic environment the group would expect Heathrow to demonstrate its previous resilience.

“Passenger numbers rose in September, with stronger growth across the Group than in July and August. Slightly softer Heathrow traffic in the latter part of September, vigilance in the near term from individual carriers and problems facing the European economy make us cautious about predicting traffic growth trends in the coming months,” he said.

“While existing routes are performing well, capacity constraints mean the UK is lagging behind in its connections to emerging market destinations - for example Paris and Frankfurt already boast 1,000 more annual flights to China’s three largest cities than Heathrow. The UK is not just missing out on flight connections, but the economic growth these links bring.”

In September BAA estimated that 40,000 fewer passengers travelled through Heathrow because of the travel disruption caused by Hurricane Irene. The total number of passengers flying in and out of London Heathrow and London Stansted in September, which are both owned by BAA, stood at just over eight million.

http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/2011/...-in-september/

[PortoNuts]

Korean Air steps up Gatwick-Seoul services

With effect from the 29th of April 2012 Korean Air will expand services from the UK to Korea with an extra three flights a week. The operation from London will then comprise the current daily service from Heathrow and an extra three services per week from Gatwick.

These Gatwick flights will depart at 10:30 AM (KE910) arriving in Seoul Incheon at 05:25 AM the following day. The inbound flight (KE909) will depart Seoul Incheon at 18:40 arriving into Gatwick at 22:35 the same day.

These timings will afford excellent connections into the Korean Air network to Japan, China and many South East Asian destinations. They also will offer direct connections from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland.

The aircraft will be a Boeing 777 offering a total of 261 seats with 8 First Class fully flat Kosmo Sleeper seats, 28 Prestige Plus seats and 225 Economy seats.

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/ne...eoul-services/

[PortoNuts]

BA flies back to Nice

British Airways has announced that it is to launch a new route from London Gatwick to the southern French city of Nice, on the Côte d'Azur.

The service will run from 25th March and there will be three flights per day. The move means that the national carrier will be competing directly with the low-cost airline easyJet who already operate the same route.

The resumed service, which ran from Gatwick up until March 2008 will leave the capital each day at 0740, 1305 and 1920 and will touch down in the south of France at 1040, 1605 and 2220 local time respectively. The return times are 0705, 1125 and 1650 landing at 0805, 1225 and 1750 back in London. Lead in prices stand at around £100 return, all taxes included.

BA already serves Nice with multiple daily flights from London Heathrow, where British Midland also operates the same route, and London City

http://www.easyvoyage.co.uk/travel-h...k-to-nice-6568

[PortoNuts]

AirAsia finds new London home at Gatwick Airport

AirAsia X Sdn Bhd (AirAsia X) officially marked its London station move from London Stansted International Airport (Stansted) to Gatwick Airport with its inaugural flight touching down into Gatwick Airport yesterday.

The airlines revealed in a press statement, “In conjunction with this event, we are offering our customers an opportunity to visit London from Kuala Lumpur for fares from RM689. For a more luxurious long-haul trip, customers can opt for our Premium Fly Flat bed seats for RM3,389.”

AirAsia X’s decision to switch from Stansted to Gatwick Airport was to provide guests with a larger variety of connectivity options such as the convenient choice of domestic or international connectivity. Gatwick Airport has a wide range of available flights, trains and buses to get into London City, Europe among others.

“With better connectivity to various countries, AirAsia X hopes to drive in more passengers from its feeder network in South East Asia to visit and explore the vast travel opportunity in Europe via Gatwick Airport,” the press statement added.

AirAsia X’s head of commercial Darren Wright commented, “From our first flight to London until today, we are strong supporters of our Kuala Lumpur-London route and have been looking for ways to improve and increase passenger traffic. We believe our move will help this route grow as we are now providing guests with more choices for connectivity.”

He added that travellers outside of the South East Asian market could also take advantage of this celebration with its ‘Fly Thru’ flight deals from London to Australia, New Zealand and China.

These flights provide guests transiting in Kuala Lumpur with a seamless connection to their onwards flight into London, eliminating the need for immigration clearance or a transit visa when they arrive in Malaysia.

Flights from Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal to Gatwick Airport will commence with three flights weekly for November. AirAsia X made plans to increase flights up to five to six per week during the winter season.

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/10...twick-airport/