Hi all, first poster here. mainly because having just flown to Lanzarote from Luton i think it was not the greatest of experiences. The staff bless them try but the whole place seems so glum. I last flew from there over 25 years ago and whilst i know time passes it seems to have stood still there. Yes lots of parking in an awfully laid out long term park. Uninterested bus driveres at pick up points. Slow passport control. I could go on. My feeling is that Luton is what it is. A rather hamstrung badly thought out below par airport and nothing short of a total re think will cure it......sorry.
In all seriousness - If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys! I doubt many other airports in the UK are much different.
I can't stand that term. Those that spout it don't usually have a clue about what people are actually paid. It could have something to do with the hassle some employees get these days simply for trying to do their job.
I can't stand that term. Those that spout it don't usually have a clue about what people are actually paid. It could have something to do with the hassle some employees get these days simply for trying to do their job.
In fact I do. Passenger Service Agents (ie. the people that sit behind the counter at check in), earn a flat £7.27ph and work 6 on, 3 off, almost always unsociable hours. Many of the employees are in their first job and have no previous aviation knowledge or experience. Although when I had that, they still weren't interested!
It was probably wrong of me to blame just the employees; the employers must take some of the blame as you could perceive a minority to be hostile. And as a contractor, you're under constant pressure.
Last edited by Dannyboy39; 30th Oct 2012 at 19:05.
Well Muckers if you thought Luton was bad then you haven´t been throught the port of Dover lately (I know it is not an airport). It is like going on one of those ghost trains that used to be at seaside resorts years ago with so-called UK Border staff peering out and looking into vehicles as you drive through at 5 mph (two grey haired seniors in a Spanish registered car). Perish the thought what our continental friends think of it. On a side passed the new airport at Castellon on the way - very impressive but no sign of any activity I´m afraid.
Seems as though the www.london-luton.co.uk website is down at the moment as it's 'just' been registered for a customer... I wonder if that is Luton Airport or some money making sharpwit!
Its not that the staff have a problem i think the place causes the problem. The whole airport area seems to be a conglomoration of add ons and plug ins, that at the time were probably very much needed but as we all know there is a time when you cant add any extras, its then you either say we are what we are or start again. Yes I live within a mile or two of SEN and I have been a keen advocate, but it wont get bigger, it wont compete for heavy jets, it cant because it is what it is, a bright new local airport for the south east. Luton should care that it may lose short haul to them, the flying public will learn that the airports feel and focus is as much part of the flight as being in the air, and lets face it we spend as long in the terminal as we do in the air in a lot of cases.
Welcome muckers, we are a friendly bunch here even to our friends at Southend.
Luton has no option but to carry on and modify what it already has. Southend had the luxury of finding an unused part of the airfield next to a railway so it could start again. For Luton to start again it would mean shutting down the terminal and moving it with its aprons and would take a couple of years.
Next year will see the start of building work to expand the airport by a further 8 million passengers. Hopefully by the time it is finished it will meet with your approval.
I have no doubt Southend will reach 2 million, most of that seems to be coming from Stansted, with a little bit of new business and maybe a tad from Luton. As with all airports what Southend gains it can also lose.
Despite all of Luton’s issues it has something on its side. It is called location, location, location. Together with a public transport system that operates 24 hours a day the airport is very easy to get to.
