Surely Luton is the biggest for private jets nowadays?
Nickmanl - Luton has for some time been handling more corporate aircraft movements than any other UK airport, and is by far the busiest for corporate flights of any of the 'London' airports, including Biggin Hill, Fanborough and RAF Northolt, not to mention Lydd, Manston, Southend and Hinton-in-the-Hedges.
The main attractions of Luton which IN COMBINATION, none of the other London airports can match are:
- H24 availibility
- Cat. 3b ILS capable (and most US suitably equipped US operators are now FAR compliant for Cat. 3 at Luton)
- H24 Customs
- No runway slot scheduling (yet...)
- Ostensibly, minimal arrival and departure delays
- The protection of Class D controlled airspace
- Two dedicated (and discrete...) executive terminals
- Short taxi times to/from said terminals
- Sufficient runway length to permit unrestricted corporate long-haul ops to the US West Coast, South Amercia, South Africa and the Far East.
The number of corporate flights was always expected to increase significantly when both Harrods and Signature invested heavily in more concrete and hangars - commercial companies don't spend cash unless more business is assured! It's rumoured that Harrods already want to extend their new apron southwards to effectively double its size and Signature would like to take over all the South Apron stands currently utilised by Harrods if ever the latter moved.
The benefit to the Airport Company (LLAO) is that it doesn't have to pay a penny to the scroungers in Luton Council, for corporate aircraft movements or corporate passengers, and so the profit goes directly to LLAO.
As to what Luton Council does with the £11,827,000 it received, who can tell? Certainly, the cr**p state of the town - aptly nicknamed "toilet town" - suggests that it doesn't go in that direction, nor from the hopelessly inadequate roads around the airport would it appear to be spent there.
Perhaps a good question at a Council meeting from some poor sucker who lives in toilet town and so has to pay council tax to Luton Council...??
