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

[noir-dresses]

Seems like EK are pushing for maximum usage of the gates before they are gone, smart.

[PortoNuts]

Qatar moves to five daily flights at London Heathrow

Qatar Airways (QR) has secured another slot pair at London Heathrow (LHR) and will add a fifth daily flight between Doha and LHR from March 25, lifting capacity on the route from 28 to 35 flights each week. The Doha-based carrier will deploy a Boeing 777 configured with 42 seats in business class and 217 seats in economy.

QR CEO Akbar Al Baker said that LHR has been one of the carrier’s “best-performing routes and it was only a matter of time before we could look at increasing frequency to meet the high demand.” Demand is expected to further increase owing to the Olympics taking place in the British capital next summer, he said.

QR operates scheduled flights to 110 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a fleet of 102 aircraft.

http://atwonline.com/airports-routes...-capacity-1215

[PortoNuts]

Airport third in the world

Stansted is the third most punctual airport for departing flights in the world, according to the latest statistics.

FlightStats, an online flight tracking and airport information service, found that more than 88 per cent of scheduled flights departed on time from the Uttlesford hub during November, outperforming other European airports for punctuality.

Tokyo’s Haneda Airport topped the global table, with US airport Minneapolis-St Paul second.

Nick Barton, Stansted Airport’s managing director, said: “This is excellent news for the airport and more importantly our passengers. It’s thanks to the help and support of our airlines, handling agents and business partners that passengers flying from Stansted are most likely to take off on-time than any other European airport.

“Stansted is firmly established as a world leader at serving the low-cost airline sector that has transformed air travel. We have a route network that stretches to around 150 destinations with Stansted offering more direct scheduled European flights than any other airport in the world.”

n AN air ambulance trust will benefit from a cash boost thanks to the generosity of staff and companies at Stansted Airport. More than 140 employees attended the airport’s annual stakeholder dinner at Stansted’s Radisson Blu Hotel and raised more than £2,500 in the charity raffle.

All the proceeds will be donated to the Essex Air Ambulance Trust. Nick Barton, Stansted’s managing director, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to all the companies who donated such superb prizes for the raffle. The Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust is a very worthy charity.”

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Saff...d-15122011.htm

[PortoNuts]

Emirates Opens Heathrow Chauffeur Drive Lounge

Emirates Airline is to upgrade its arrivals facilities at London’s Heathrow Airport with a lounge for First Class and Business Class passengers using the airline’s complimentary Chauffeur-drive service.

The lounge, which opened on 7th December, 2011, will be situated close to the kerbside in the arrivals area of Heathrow’s Terminal 3 and will serve passengers arriving on Emirates’ five daily services to the airport complementing the airline’s dedicated airside departures lounge, also available to First Class and Business Class outbound passengers.

“Heathrow is our biggest UK airport operation, with two of our five flights served by Emirates A380s and we anticipate that around 200 passengers will use the Chauffeur-drive lounge every day,” said Laurie Berryman, Emirates’. Vice President UK & Ireland. “By opening this new facility, we are ensuring that all our First Class and Business Class passengers experience seamless journeys from their aircraft seat to their luxury chauffeured vehicle.”

The facility will include seating for up to 30 people, and tea, coffee, beverages and snacks will be offered. Newspapers and magazines will be available, along with a TV showing satellite news. A business area with desktop computers will be offered, along with complimentary WiFi throughout.

Emirates’ chauffeured vehicles will be parked just 15 metres from the lounge, enabling passengers to go directly to their vehicles rather than wait in the car park area. A porter service to assist with taking baggage to vehicles will also be provided.

http://www.etravelblackboard.com/art...r-drive-lounge

[swe]

New island airport proposed in the greater London area.

[chornedsnorkack]

Shall start services out of LCY transatlantic and elsewhere with 10 Cseries in 2014 or 2015:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7BI03X20111219
How many "business" seats can fit in CS100?

A318 maximum no frills seating is 132, at 6 abreast meaning 22 rows. BA has 32 seats, 4 abreast, so 8 rows.

CS100 maximum no frills seating is 125, at 5 abreast meaning 25 rows.

E190 maximum no frills seating is 114, at 4 abreast meaning 28 and a half rows.

At all business, E190/Lineage 1000 should fit 10 rows of beds at 3 abreast, 30 total.
CS100 should fit 9 rows of beds. But Cseries cabin is 41 cm narrower than A320.

Can 36 4 abreast beds in Cseries fit for transatlantic, or does it have to be 27 at 3 abreast to qualify as business for you?

How much MTOW can CS100ER lift out of LCY? How much can Lineage 1000?

What is the range of CS100ER out of LCY with 36 beds, baggage and extra tanks as appropriate? And what is the range of Lineage 1000 out of LCY with 30 beds, baggage and extra tanks as appropriate?

Also remember what Odyssey means. 10 planeloads of rich businesspeople should get killed off piecemeal with a lone survivor held as sex slave for 7 years. So expect to hear of the fate of the passengers sometime in 2024 or 2025....

[PortoNuts]

[lezgotolondon]

can you pst redenrings of the new terminal 1-2?

I saw it under construction, seems huge!

[krnboy1009]

London Luton has no jetways?

[PortoNuts]

[PortoNuts]

[PortoNuts]

China Southern to make London debut with Guangzhou flight

One of the world's largest airlines, China Southern Airlines has announced plans to start flying a three times weekly service between its base in Guangzhou to London Heathrow. The new service will start from 06 June 2012 using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

China Southern is part of the prestigious Skyteam alliance and is currently sixth in the league table of global airlines ranked by the number of passengers carried.

China Southern will be operating a three class service on the route with Business, Premium Economy and economy options. Passengers will be entitled to the free baggage allowance as follows: three check-in pieces of baggage for business class; two check-in pieces of baggage for premium economy class; one check-in piece of baggage for economy class.

Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city with a population of more than 13 million. The city is served by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport named after nearby Mount Baiyun and was opened in 2004, it is approximately 28 kilometres from the centre of Guangzhou. Alternative Airlines have a special relationship with China Southern Airlines providing competitive fares for flights to, from and within China.

http://www.alternativeairlines.com/c...angzhou-flight

[PortoNuts]

Heathrow Posts Record Year as Manchester Overtakes Stansted

BAA Ltd.'s London Heathrow airport, the busiest in Europe, handled a record 69.4 million passengers last year, pushing it to the limits of capacity constraints.

Passenger numbers at Heathrow rose 5.5 percent to exceed a previous high of 67.9 million set in 2007 as the airport handled 476,197 flights, or 99.2 percent of its 480,000 limit, BAA said today in a statement. The company's Stansted base suffered a traffic slump and fell below Manchester in the U.K. rankings.

BAA handled 105.8 million passengers across its six U.K. airports last year, an increase of 4.4 percent, though adjusting for disruption in 2010 from snow, volcanic ash and a strike at British Airways the increase was 0.9 percent. Heathrow's figures are being spurred by business bookings to emerging markets, helping to offset weaker domestic and short-haul leisure demand.

“India, China and Brazil in particular have been growing really well,” BAA Commercial Director John Holland-Kaye said in a telephone interview. “Given the way the world economy is changing, the more routes we have to those markets the better able we are to tap into those growing economies.”

‘Step Forward'

The planned 172.5 million-pound ($265 million) purchase of Deutsche Lufthansa AG's BMI unit by BA parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA should help Heathrow make more out of its capacity, Holland-Kaye said, with slots devoted to short-haul routes likely to be redeployed on longer flights.

“BMI have a lot of routes that they fly quite inefficiently and British Airways will be able to use those better,” he said. “That's a good step forward in maintaining a hub.”

London Stansted, previously Britain's No. 3 airport after Heathrow and London Gatwick -- which BAA sold in 2009 -- slipped to fourth in the rankings following a 2.8 percent decline in passenger numbers to 18 million.

That puts it behind Manchester airport in northern England, where the total rose 6.5 percent to 18.8 million, according to a statement last week. The number of passengers using scheduled airlines there rose almost 14 percent, spurred by services from Gulf carriers Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways Ltd., which are seeking to strip traffic away from BA at Heathrow.

“With January being the key month for summer holiday bookings, we are optimistic for the year ahead,” Managing Director Andrew Harrison said in e-mailed comments.

BAA's Edinburgh airport, which the London-based company aims to sell this year after an antitrust ruling, attracted 9.38 million passengers in 2011, an increase of 9.2 percent. Glasgow, which it is keeping, posted a 5.1 percent gain to 6.86 million.

Shares of BAA's owner, Spanish builder Ferrovial SA, closed 1.9 percent lower in Madrid. IAG rose 4 percent in London.

http://news.businessweek.com/article...I95J1E25KV4GIR

[IanCleverly]

Originally Posted by Travelmole

Luton airport plans massive growth

Luton airport is hoping to increase its capacity to 18 million passengers annually, creating up to 6,000 jobs. A project called 'futureLuToN:Optimisation' was introduced to the airport's consultative committee representing local residents, councils and community groups yesterday

The airport's current maximum capacity is estimated at 11.5 million passengers per annum and 9.6 million passengers are expected to use the airport this year.

Story briefly continues Here

[PortoNuts]

Serbia's Jat Airlines launches seasonal flights to London's Gatwick airport

Serbia’s Jat Airways has made changes to its upcoming London Gatwick service. Flights to London’s second busiest airport will be inaugurated on June 15 and will operate on a seasonal summer basis (to September 14) to cope with high passenger demand experienced during the summer months on the existing Belgrade - London Heathrow route.

In addition to the two weekly flights to London Gatwick, Jat will also serve London Heathrow nine times per week over the summer. Passengers departing from the Serbian capital will be spoilt for choice as they will also have the option of using Wizz Air’ s four weekly service to London’s Luton Airport.

http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php...enumber=132530

[Halawala]

Is there any information on Terminal 2 progress?

[PortoNuts]

Originally Posted by SE9

This is the new under-construction terminal at Heathrow, for Star Alliance airliners:

[Halawala]

I was under the impression that this terminal was built for the Olympics! There is no way it can finish before June! Anyways, thanks for the progress shots.

[progressing nicely]

Originally Posted by Halawala

I was under the impression that this terminal was built for the Olympics! There is no way it can finish before June! Anyways, thanks for the progress shots.

They are building a temporary departure terminal for the Olympics on a south side car park.

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/...mpic-terminal/

The photos above are for the permanent Heathrow East terminal.

[Fenix_2007]

I would love Avianca to be able to use the new Star Allianca terminal in the future. Hope at least they open the route soon.