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Old 29th May 2006, 09:48
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Old info from the airports website:

We intend to submit a planning application for Project 2030 – Phase 1
in early 2006, in line with proposals we published in our Development
Brief 2001, that is available on our website www.london-luton.co.uk.
This planning application represents our intention to make best use
of existing capacity. Phase 1 will include the construction of additional
aircraft stands, a terminal extension and associated piers, a multi-storey
and surface car park and extensions to our parallel taxiway. We intend to
complete these works by the end of 2007.

So June is now only a couple of days away and no sign of a planning application. Is it the case that the planners at the airport just can’t squeeze a quart into a pint pot?

Problems include no room for a short term parking at ground level if a new apron is built in the existing short term car park. The only area available in the central area for a multi story car park is the present easyjet HQ site but the site is small and a high level car park could restrict views of the taxiway from the tower.

The closed off area of the mid term car park has had to be brought back into use as there was not enough parking spaces for the bank holiday traffic. This option will disappear once work commences next month on the new airport access road. This car park will get smaller still if and when a full-length parallel taxiway is built at the 08 end.

There is also the problem of too many cars entering the central area at peak times and the reluctance of drivers to use car parks.

So will the airports plans for phase 1 now incorporate some of the ideas for phase 2 like building a reception center by the fire station and also converting the mid term car park to a short term car park. The central area would become a traffic free zone for passengers and meeter and greeters who would use a rapid transit system to get to the terminal which is already part of the phase 2 thinking.

Or is the real problem funding or Luton Council refusing to extend the lease which would make the investment worthwhile ? Clearly something is going wrong and timescales are starting to slip.

Last edited by King Pong; 29th May 2006 at 10:03.
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Old 29th May 2006, 11:53
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Grrr

A real aircraft in at tea time this evening (Monday)?

Rumoured to be a 4 engined radial owned by a bullish drinks company staying the night!

Last edited by Buster the Bear; 29th May 2006 at 13:43.
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Old 29th May 2006, 16:03
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DC6 due in from Nice around 19:00 local (provisional if the rumour is true)

Last edited by LTNman; 29th May 2006 at 16:21.
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Old 29th May 2006, 18:14
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Grrr

It arrived, was due to night stop, but as Luton does not have enough 100LL it is positioning up to Coventry soon to re-fuel!
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Old 30th May 2006, 05:10
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On Tuesday Housing Minister Baroness Andrews visited Luton and South Bedfordshire. Baroness Andrews witnessed the handover of the £16 million construction contract between Luton Borough Council and contractors Birse Civils Ltd to build the East Luton Corridor. Work is due to start on June 19 and end early in 2008.
Baroness Andrews said: "The Government has now realised that it's losing ground to the Tories under Tony Blair Mk. II (D. Cameron) and so has finally agreed that tax-payers in the area should begin to see some investment being made in the local roads. We sincerely hope this will generate sufficient votes at the next election to ensure that we are re-elected with a workable majority".



...Or is the real problem funding or Luton Council refusing to extend the lease which would make the investment worthwhile?
A 'consolidated' planning application to undertake further development of the existing Airport site is still due to be lodged during June. The plans involved are designed to increase capacity (passengers/aircraft movements) sufficiently to permit further expansion up to circa 2012 when - if further planning permission is forthcoming - the 'new' Luton Airport site is intended to be open for business. Luton Borough Council is however, keen to see all development stay on the existing site or approximately, either within the current boundary or involving expansion primarily within Bedfordshire. To this end, it's minded to consider a re-negotiation to the Concession Agreement enabling a significant extension to be granted. Whilst ACDL would like to see an extension (it should be remembered that the consortium that included the Frankfurt Airport Authority, back in 1999 withdrew from the tendering process because it considered that 30 years, with the level of investment required to make of for the Council's failure to invest sufficiently in LTN, was insufficient to support a viable business plan), its preferred development option is the 'new airport-new site proposal' but at the same time, any extension to the Concession is something that ACDL would welcome.

What's clear to everyone is that the existing site is now woefully inadequate to support any continued even limited growth on an interim basis, without further work being undertaken.

The plan for a new 'Southeast Apron' on the site of an existing car park will require the construction of a multi-storey car park to compensate for the loss of car parking spaces. To achieve this within LTN's 'central terminal area' as it's known would be major civil engineering project, but one that Abertis has evaluated and considers to be logistically viable - since Abertis is a heavy-weight player in the European road construction business, it should know what it's talking about.

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Old 30th May 2006, 05:12
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Had a look at the arrivals board this morning to see how many IT flights came in at around 6:00 seeing that the runway was closed last night for runway resurfacing work. Well there wasn’t any. Looking at the departure board there were 3 Thomson departures before the board run out of space at 08:15. So has Thomson cut out it’s red eye specials and thus capacity. Also what has happened to First Choice, are they only operating part time from Luton this year and are Monarch only operating Scheduled services now from Luton as there were no Mon flight numbers on the board. Also what has happened to the foreign IT airlines that used to operate into Luton? I can’t remember seeing any since the start of the summer season.
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Old 30th May 2006, 05:34
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The plan for a new 'Southeast Apron' on the site of an existing car park will require the construction of a multi-storey car park to compensate for the loss of car parking spaces. To achieve this within LTN's 'central terminal area' as it's known would be major civil engineering project,
The problem is that the airport has spectacularly got their timings wrong and has been caught out by rapid expansion over the last 2 years. This planning application should have been put in two years ago and completed for the start of this summer season. The airport now finds itself in a position where there are no spare stands for night stoppers nor will there be for the next 2 years so in effect has to turn business away. Realistically work would not start until 2007 so 2008 is now looking more likely as a completion date or 2009 if there is a public enquiry.

Luton Borough Council is however, keen to see all development stay on the existing site or approximately, either within the current boundary or involving expansion primarily within Bedfordshire.
That means Wigmore Park which won’t go down well with the residents as the park was built as a noise buffer. So does this mean that the council are prepared to sacrifice the residents of Wigmore and remove that buffer so that the town’s ethnic minorities who have considerable political clout via their councillors are guaranteed extra funding for their deprived areas of town

Last edited by King Pong; 30th May 2006 at 16:48.
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Old 30th May 2006, 05:58
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So where are all the cars going to park when this work starts? Logic would dictate that the multi-storey car park should be built first before the new apron is started but by building the car park first would delay even further the construction of a new apron. If you think the traffic is bad now just wait until they start expanding the terminal and changing the road layouts.
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Old 30th May 2006, 15:06
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Core/soil samples

I have noticed last month that about 40 core/soil samples have been taken from a large field outside the airport perimeter but butt's up against the boundary. This field is to the east of the fire training ground and a runs parrell to the north of 26 landing light stantions.
Anybody know if this is an airport project and if so what are they planning?
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Old 30th May 2006, 15:20
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So has Thomson cut out it’s red eye specials and thus capacity. Also what has happened to First Choice, are they only operating part time from Luton this year and are Monarch only operating Scheduled services now from Luton as there were no Mon flight numbers on the board. Also what has happened to the foreign IT airlines that used to operate into Luton? I can’t remember seeing any since the start of the summer season.

The red-eye specials all start at the end of june / begining of july once the airport is 24h again

as for foreign IT they start operating at the end of june again i think that there is only Spainair and Sunexpress

rgds
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Old 30th May 2006, 16:08
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Summer IT Flights

In answer to earlier questions:

- ThompsonFly are already operating some "red eye's" - just none on a Monday night/Tuesday morning.

- The First Choice aircraft is based full time and it too is operating a small number of "red eye's". The aircraft operates a "W" pattern into other airports on Monday and Thursday.

- Monarch - yes, the vast majority is now scheduled flights but there are a few charters .. a couple of Larnaca's on Wednesday and a Zante on Thursday

- Foreign charters - I second what saggst posted, although some of the Turkey bound flights are being operated by Thomas Cook.
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Old 30th May 2006, 21:14
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So does this mean that the Council are prepared to sacrifice the residents of Wigmore and remove that buffer so that the town’s ethnic minorities who have considerable political clout via their councillors are guaranteed extra funding for their deprived areas of town...??
The Council is just scared shi**ess at the prospect of ACDL successfully constructing a multi-million pound new airport with a 3000 metre runway, outside the LBC sphere of influence such that ultimately, ACDL might no longer have any use for the airport that LBC owns.

Compare the 'old' Liverpool Airport with the 'new' Liverpool Airport and imagine a county and unitary boundary dividing the two, with different operators owning each part...

If LBC ever lost its 'milking cow' Luton would become even more run down and destitute looking than it currently looks!!

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Old 30th May 2006, 21:20
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Ref the field to the east of the fire ground.
I was told that the machine was a huge vibrating seismology (spellcheck!) thing checking for unexploded bombs!!!,
Would have to be done before Century Park got under way.
Dont know Luton history well enough to quote munitions and the war!
But:- There are now a few big orange flags on posts scattered in the field!
Hope no birds land heavy or any rabbits are to heavy!!!
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Old 30th May 2006, 22:36
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Monarch

Plus the Friday Mahon (7056), I think.

I guess lots of IT/charter pax travels on the scheds. Can't imagine that A300 on Saturdays is all scheduled pax.
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Old 31st May 2006, 06:52
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Originally Posted by forest
Ref the field to the east of the fire ground.
I was told that the machine was a huge vibrating seismology (spellcheck!) thing checking for unexploded bombs!!!,

There are now a few big orange flags on posts scattered in the field!
Hope no birds land heavy or any rabbits are to heavy!!!
Vibrating the ground to check for unexploded bombs would be a novel approach particularly if one went off. If there were even a suspicion that there was unexploded ordnance the runway would be closed. Interesting post all the same about why little orange flags have appeared.
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Old 31st May 2006, 11:02
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Grrr

Originally Posted by CAP493
If LBC ever lost its 'milking cow' Luton would become even more run down and destitute looking than it currently looks!!
Come on CAP, that is impossible, the town is a shining example of english suburbia!

LBC is having considerable problems backing the site of a new football ground within the town boundary, let alone coming to grasp with having a major expanding employer (the airport) in the town.

I still maintain that the current political direction of LBC does not bode well for the airport?

Let us not forget CAP, the huge influence that a certain pension guru/accountant and good friend of mine (RIP) had within the Town Hall. I bet his in depth knowledge and foresight has not been replaced? His guidance for the elected officers in the Town Hall was massive, much of the good you see today at the airport had an element of his persuasiveness with the council leaders and decision makers. I wonder if today, the relationship between ACDL and LBC is as good as it could be, or once was with previous operators of the concession?

The airport site (apart from aviation) was a German POW camp during the latter stages of WW2.
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Old 31st May 2006, 16:02
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The POW camp was I believe full of Italians and not Germans. In the first photo part of the camp can seen in the foreground opposite the airport entrance.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/3...1946no27bd.jpg

in the second photo the camp can be seen in the middle distance on the other side of Eaton Green Road so just outside the airport.

http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/6435/s6gc.jpg
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Old 31st May 2006, 16:30
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That's correct, LTNman. Great photos, got anymore? They didn't bother locking the Italians in who use to wander the streets looking for work! My parents use to live not far away and use to say they were good gardeners!!
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Old 31st May 2006, 17:32
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Aerial views of Luton

vintage ATCO

1934

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1...oto19346zz.jpg

1946

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1...oto19461jt.jpg

1960

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9...oto19608rx.jpg

around 1960

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1...fminney3we.jpg
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Old 31st May 2006, 20:31
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Fascinating pics, LTNman ~ thanks!

Perhaps the most telling aspect (apart from the obvious historic interest) is what these photographs tell you about Luton Council's attitude towards its Airport: over a 27-year period (1934 to about 1961) the Airport itself appears to have had virtually no development (buildings + control tower excepted) and in the last pic still sported state-of-the-art grass runways i.e. well into the jet age!!!

No wonder that until recently, the place has been in many ways, so far behind the drag curve.

I've no doubt that what Buster says about a certain individual who is sadly, no longer with us, is 100% true. Unfortunmately, the pitifully short-sighted inward-looking element remains inside the Town Hall (and probably still wonders why a grass runway isn't perfectly adequate for LTN...)

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