LONDON CITY - 2
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: London
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It has to be one of the more bizarre flights schedules for sure unless they are planning some kind of code share with BACF to operate the AMS route at weekends on their behalf when it's quieter?
On a separate note, I travelled to/from London City for the first time in a while this week and I have to say what a pleasure it was, a seamless travel experience. Every stage of the departure & arrivals process was efficient and easy. London City really have got their model just right for passengers
On a separate note, I travelled to/from London City for the first time in a while this week and I have to say what a pleasure it was, a seamless travel experience. Every stage of the departure & arrivals process was efficient and easy. London City really have got their model just right for passengers
Thread Starter
BA now starting service to Hamburg
London City Airport :: Read Article
Operated by Sun Air, their franchise operator who have done the Billund flights for some time now. BA do seem to be on a bit of a roll with new services, both with their own Embraers and getting others to operate prop aircraft.
London City Airport :: Read Article
Operated by Sun Air, their franchise operator who have done the Billund flights for some time now. BA do seem to be on a bit of a roll with new services, both with their own Embraers and getting others to operate prop aircraft.
Join Date: Feb 2004
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I travelled through LCY last Thursday morning (fog delays) and the airport seemed very crowded and inadequate, desperately needing more space in the terminal for such circumstances.
In complete contrast my return on Tuesday afternoon was a good experience with my baggage delivered quickly, the flight 20 mins early and 4 mins wait for the DLR.
In complete contrast my return on Tuesday afternoon was a good experience with my baggage delivered quickly, the flight 20 mins early and 4 mins wait for the DLR.
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First day of the big schedule increase, seemingly by all concerned, which seems to have gone reasonably well on the ops side. Have passenger numbers matched the increase in flights ? Looking at the timetable there seem to be 34 arrivals and departures in the hour 0800-0859, which must be a challenge for ATC.
The new Flybe mini-hub, when announced, had various advertisements around the place, months before they started, which seemed a bit premature, but now they have begun I haven't seen anything more. I'll be giving them a whizz next week when off to Belfast, seeing if they have better loads than Cityjet got last time around.
The new Flybe mini-hub, when announced, had various advertisements around the place, months before they started, which seemed a bit premature, but now they have begun I haven't seen anything more. I'll be giving them a whizz next week when off to Belfast, seeing if they have better loads than Cityjet got last time around.
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Ireland
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Flybe has been running radio ads in Ireland in recent days promoting the DUB-LCY service. The key USPs they are touting are "the only London airport that's actually in London" and "you can go from plane to taxi within 20 minutes, and be in Liverpool St 20 minutes after that." The "plane to taxi within 20 minutes" seems to me to be underselling the point of LCY pretty comprehensively. If you have no checked luggage, you can go from plane to taxi within 20 minutes at Gatwick or Heathrow (or 2 minutes from a domestic UK/CTA flight at LCY), so you are unlikely to be particularly impressed by this claim for LCY. If we are to understand that the 20 minutes relates to retrieving a checked bag, it might help to specify that (unless that also requires flybe to add T&Cs to the effect that checked baggage costs extra?).
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I haven't heard the ads in London, but whoever thinks that you "can" go plane to taxi at LCY within 20 minutes has obviously never been to the place. As Cyrano says, 2 minutes is more like it (I managed 60 seconds once - you've got to be on Gate 2 to do it). I don't think I have ever taken anything like 20 minutes, even with waiting for bags.
Incidentally, Heathrow is in London as well. London Borough of Hillingdon.
Incidentally, Heathrow is in London as well. London Borough of Hillingdon.
Join Date: Dec 2011
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Flybe has been running radio ads in Ireland in recent days promoting the DUB-LCY service. The key USPs they are touting are "the only London airport that's actually in London" and "you can go from plane to taxi within 20 minutes, and be in Liverpool St 20 minutes after that." The "plane to taxi within 20 minutes" seems to me to be underselling the point of LCY pretty comprehensively. If you have no checked luggage, you can go from plane to taxi within 20 minutes at Gatwick or Heathrow (or 2 minutes from a domestic UK/CTA flight at LCY), so you are unlikely to be particularly impressed by this claim for LCY. If we are to understand that the 20 minutes relates to retrieving a checked bag, it might help to specify that (unless that also requires flybe to add T&Cs to the effect that checked baggage costs extra?).
Incidentally, Heathrow is in London as well. London Borough of Hillingdon.
Doubt if BE would use the same comments if it had any Heathrow routes and didn't do so for its former Gatwick routes.
It's doubtful that anyone who lands at Heathrow (or Gatwick, Luton, Southend, Stansted) believes that they are "actually in London", to quote the BE ad, especially those who have actually done the journey up to London!
Thread Starter
Well although things airside may have been OK yesterday, an item on the LCY Twitter site describes a gross queue (with photo) at security, which was sufficiently long in the early morning that passengers were having to forgo breakfast in the departure lounge.
It's a bit of an incessant story that any increase in services always seems to catch out whoever manages the security resources; can it be that the additional landing fees and passenger service charges from the extra services are not proportionately handed down to security staffing, nor that there is any advance planning.
I would only add that despite all the recent investment in more space and security channels at LCY, I have never yet seen all of the channels in use at the same time, so I hope that the "fix" for this is not a proposal for more capital investment in more security channels.
It's a bit of an incessant story that any increase in services always seems to catch out whoever manages the security resources; can it be that the additional landing fees and passenger service charges from the extra services are not proportionately handed down to security staffing, nor that there is any advance planning.
I would only add that despite all the recent investment in more space and security channels at LCY, I have never yet seen all of the channels in use at the same time, so I hope that the "fix" for this is not a proposal for more capital investment in more security channels.
Join Date: Feb 2000
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You can get out of LCY in two minutes - but only if the doors from the baggage hall are open. On my recent early morning arrival, they were locked. No staff in baggage hall. No phone or intercom to summon help. We were on the verge of hitting the fire alarm to release the doors. By chance, a passing cleaner heard the yelling and banging on the doors and was able to summon assistance. When a staff member eventually arrived to release the doors, she professed not to know we were there. So BA managed to land an Embraer into LCY at no one told the airport staff?
Agree with the comment about security queues, these can be horrid at times.
For an airport that claims to be "all about time", they really need to take a long hard look at their operational processes and up their game.
Agree with the comment about security queues, these can be horrid at times.
For an airport that claims to be "all about time", they really need to take a long hard look at their operational processes and up their game.
Thread Starter
In a marginally related aspect, our corporate travel agent issued me a standard booking on an 0700 departure to Dublin stating that the absolute minimum check in time was 2 hours. I queried this and was told yes, this was because it is an international flight. I then said that the terminal doors were not even unlocked by 0500 so how could this be the minimum time - let alone the LCY quick check in which they had completely ignored because they say the same for Heathrow and everywhere else. I wonder how many others are disadvantaged by this "one size fits all" policy.
Join Date: Sep 2012
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This Friday morning's HAM-LCY-HAM got cancelled earlier this week. All others are operating as planned on that route. Can someone enlighten me what the logic behind such move would be?
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Actually a very low cloud base. Going by the Canary Wharf towers, probably about 300 feet, and drizzle underneath. Yes, a gross disorganisation, multiple go-arounds over the house, I think Southend may have been knocked out later as well because everything seems to have gone to Gatwick. It's unusual for Cityjet to end up down there. Several seem to have cancelled the round trip from the origin. Flybe seemed to do some earlier ones into Southend and then returned to origin from there about two hours late; presumably waiting for pax to be coached out from LCY.
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Full my arse. Lack of staff, insufficient fuel reserves. Dec 2006 70+ diversions no dedicated handling staff but everyone happy to help. Watch out Snd heading down that slippery slope.