So whats it like now the new owners have settled in?
Currently at a BAA airport with a for sale sign at the gates, I can't help but wonder if it has made a difference (apart from the three hundred or more poor bu44ers that lost their jobs) to the remaining staff. have you lost out at all?
Quote: "I traveled through LGW's North Terminal last Saturday afternoon. There was one queue for departures and it took 20 mins to get to the other side. I thought it was only meant to take a few minutes nowadays (or so they keep saying)! Of course everybody had to get their boarding passes out for a second time, so I suppose that's going to take a while. It must be a nightmare when it's actually busy!!"
Had similar, but boarding pass looked at three times. Why does the chap by the conveyor belt need to see it? Surely he/she has enough to do reminding people to remove their coats, take their laptops out, etc., etc..
Could that be why a 5-minute procedure takes over 20?
Quote: "I have recently seen a map showing the location of the 'planned' second runway at Gatwick, south of the existing one. In 1969 I worked for BUA and saw a brochure that had been given to all employees on the occasion of the move to Gatwick from Croydon. This brochure included a map of the airport as it was then and also had a proposed additional runway. If my memory is correct, this had one end roughly at the current western (08) end running in a north-easterly direction, towards Horley.
Has anyone a copy of this or confirm what I saw was at that time correct? Obviously such a runway could not be constructed now, well I suppose it could, goodbye North Terminal, Hotels and some of Horley.
Wasn't the original plan for the 2nd rwy to be north of the current one? Couldn't happen now, of course, because of LGW-North.
Quote: "Arrived as a domestic at LGW South Pier 1 yesterday. Slight wait for jetbridge, then off plane to be held en masse at gate entrance waiting for someone to come and man the photo id scan and issue the barcode on a piece of paper to each of us. Then around 100 of us walking up the half corridor to the domestic arrivals hall against the flow of outbound pax and navigating around the queue boarding at Gate 1. Generally LGW is hugely improved but the domestic arrivals set up is not exactly slick. Presume something better is in the offing with the redevelopment of Pier 1 given the not insignificant amount of domestic traffic? It's not badly managed, it just seems a bit 'clunky'."
Yes, have had that experience too, it is not good enough!
As it is a dedicated domestic pier (as at LHR-1) do the pax need to be segregated? Would a photo for departing pax (as at LHR-1) not be sufficient? The domestic pier is on two levels, could not arriving and departing pax be segregated by level if it is in fact necessary?
What sort of impression does it give of the UK's second biggest airport?
Why does the chap by the conveyor belt need to see it? Surely he/she has enough to do reminding people to remove their coats, take their laptops out, etc., etc..
They took the human element away with the automated, scan the boarding card barriers. Guess what? Apparently someone jumped the barriers so now they have to manually double check every boarding card.
Quote:
As it is a dedicated domestic pier (as at LHR-1) do the pax need to be segregated? Would a photo for departing pax (as at LHR-1) not be sufficient? The domestic pier is on two levels, could not arriving and departing pax be segregated by level if it is in fact necessary?
Actually Pier 1 is not a dedicated domestic pier, however that is its main use.
It's possible to walk for transit passengers to walk from the departure lounge to Pier 1, if you have not cleared customs and immigration, they need to prevent you walking out of domestic arrivals. Hence all arriving domestic passengers are photographed to make sure they, and no one else exits into the terminal. The pier IS on two levels, upstairs is international and Channel Islands arrivals and takes you to Immigration. Pier 1 is used for international departures as well, easyJet use Gate 2 and I have seen Gates 1 and 3 used by Jet2 as well. Do we have a timetable for its closure?
Last edited by Skipness One Echo; 23rd Sep 2012 at 02:33.
I read somewhere recently that they are hoping to do exec ad hoc charters from LGW...not sure if the crews have returned to Hong Kong? The last A330 arrived here on 31/8 and they have suspended services from HK from 3/9
Nothing to do with LGW-problems with the airline itself apparently-a shame as it was such a busy route-all to do with the company itself sadly they may have ceased to trade?
New Spanish paper airline Hispania Airways is to launch flights to Granada, op. by Lithuanian carrier Avion Express, using A320 outfit.
Already bookable on their website.
New Air Arabia Maroc flights to Casablanca and Tangiers are confirmed and open for reservations.
It is also confirmed Air One is to cease Milan/Malpensa route by the end of the summer schedule, due to poor revenues on this sector, in spite of fairly good load factors registered. On the other hand, ZB has also dramatically reduced the number of flights (even to just 2-3 per week) offered for the same route. Seems like EZY is giving its competitors a hard time...
On the other hand, ZB has also dramatically reduced the number of flights (even to just 2-3 per week) offered for the same route. Seems like EZY is giving its competitors a hard time...
Monarch look like they are now dropping MXP from all of their bases from November.
Meridiana will start Verona from 12th October, not sure of frequency/equipment yet though?
IG have begun to release for sale there VRN flights which are due start on 12th October . They will also at the same time make changes to there FLR service.
Flights are still being loaded into IG's booking system with the rest of there W13 flights expected to be released later this week. So further changes are possible to the W13 service
Florence
IG0355 FLR 07:50 LGW 09:00 319 D (Until 11/10) IG0351 FLR 18:05 LGW 19:15 319 D (12/10 to 27/10)
IG0356 LGW 09:10 FLR 12:15 319 D (From 28/10) IG0356 LGW 09:45 FLR 12:50 319 D (Until 27/10) IG0352 LGW 18:05 FLR 19:15 319 D (Until 11/10)
Verona
IG0597 VRN 07:25 LGW 08:25 319 D (From 28/10) IG0597 VRN 08:00 LGW 09:00 319 D (12/10 to 27/10)
The new Verona route to Gatwick will no doubt be due to the Ryanair pull out, where all routes to Verona, including the Stansted service will be axed on 12 October.
I wonder if they will, BA already operate Verona out of Gatwick ~2/3 daily whereas Meridiana's other routes (Florence and Olbia) are not served by BA so the codeshare makes more obvious sense. I suppose we'll just have to see what happens.
