Edinburgh Airport tower glows purple for upcoming re-brand
STV News, 4th December, 2012
A sudden flurry of snow might be the only unusual thing travellers at Edinburgh airport expected to see this week.
But there’s more happening at the airport than just a light dusting of snow and dropping temperatures, as the airport tower has transformed over night into a bright purple beacon welcoming passengers into the capital.
Although the glowing violet tower may seem just an attractive touch to the airport landscape, the colour change signals exciting new developments for the business as a whole.
Edinburgh Airport’s branding re-launch will take place at Edinburgh Castle on Wednesday December 5, and the purple tower is just a little glimpse of what might be involved in the changes.
“We changed the colour on the tower as a little teaser for the public, and also because it’s coming up to Christmas,” said Gordon Robertson, Head of Communications at the airport.
“We wanted to build up anticipation and excitement about the changes that are being made.
“The re-brand is needed, we’ve been working very hard in the six months since it was purchased by new owners and we’re all very excited.”
The airport was purchased by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) from BAA in June 2012 for £807.2m, and since then the group – which also own Gatwick and 75% of London City airport, have been making improvements and attracting airline deals to the capital’s thriving airport.
In August 2012, budget airline Easyjet, who already have five aircraft stationed at Edinburgh, announced that it would be adding two more Airbus A319 planes to its Auld Reekie fleet.
The arrival of these two planes will offer an extra 180,000 passenger seats a year for Scotland, although the flight routes of these have yet to be confirmed.
Some 2.5 million of easyJet’s four million Scottish airport passengers per year currently fly from the capital, which is only set to increase once new planes have been added.
“Business has been good, the changes the new owners are bringing in are making a difference,” said Gordon.
“The tempo has been increased, people are seeing changes not only in the processes within the airport but in the airlines we’ve been attracting.”
Easyjet are not the only airline expanding existing services or creating new deals with the airport, as in November Virgin Atlantic announced they had been successful in their bid for all Heathrow short-haul domestic flights from Edinburgh.
Turkish Airlines have also moved in to the airport since the GIP takeover, introducing Scotland’s first direct flight to Istanbul in July.
As Scotland's busiest airport, Edinburgh currently serves approximately 9m passengers from over 40 airlines every year and handles around 311 flights on a daily basis. It was named Best European Airport: 5m - 10m Passengers in 2012 for the second year in a row at the ACI Europe Best Airport Awards.
“It’s been a very busy six months, but very successful,” said Gordon.
“In 2013, people are going to see more of what we always try to do at Edinburgh Airport – offering Scotland the best possible airport experience and a diverse choice of routes.
“Easyjet’s going to have a further seven routes from Edinburgh and two new planes, which roughly equates to 9 million more passengers over eight years.
“We’re extending Scotland’s reach, and we’re supporting that by getting people through security quickly and making sure our flights are punctual, that’s what’s important to the public.”
The colour-changing airport tower may give little away about the exciting new brand changes at the airport, but it certainly has the public asking plenty of questions and strikes an attractive pose on the Edinburgh skyline.
http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/magazine/203884-glowing-purple-tower-signals-edinburgh-airport-re-brand/