LTNMAN - quite possibly Ray Webster has in mind the various issues and factors that you list in your post, however let's step back a moment.
TBI say that Luton is only running at 50% of capacity and judged over a 24 hour or 7 day period that is probably true, but you and I both know that that free apron space is in extremely short supply at times and particularly overnight. Basing additional aircraft at Luton to operate more routes is therefore very difficult until more apron space is built.
Matters have been made considerably worse by the establishment of the Operations Centre at Luton (for the uninitiated - a small core of staff provide Apron Control, Security Control, Coaching Management functions plus answer enquiries from the public) which saw the experienced Apron Controllers not employed in the new roles and leaving TBI. All had double digit years of experience (no - I wasn't one of them).
As a result there are frequent last minute changes of stand as the new staff forget that they've still got an aircraft on the allocated stand because it is running late. They have no procedures to know which stands are occupied as the "bunker" they are in has no view of any part of the apron and I'm reliably informed they often have to despatch a Marshaller to find out which stands are empty!
Such a situation recently resulted in a easyJet aircraft holding for 20 minutes after landing until a free stand could be identified by the Marshaller.
And then there was the episode of the Air Atlanta 767-300 being parked on Stand 47 and nearly making a nice hole in the "easytent" ... as Stand 47 can't accept 767's!
I could go on, but there are already a number of threads on this forum about the inability of TBI Management to get new business and to run an airport that looks like a proper airport.
Discuss!!
Edited for a typo!
Last edited by OLNEY 1 BRAVO; 13th June 2003 at 23:31.