LUTON - 6
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: -
Posts: 747
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Charter Flights from LTN
Out of interest, this year, charter flights from LTN, will account for just 5% of all pax.
Is this due to the number of charter flights being reduced this summer or is it because there are more scheduled services and ratio works out to reduce it to 5%?
ThomsonFly operates a number of services which are marketed as scheduled services and are actually people flying on packages, to a lessor extent XL Airways are doing the same on their LCA, PFO and SSH services this summer. Anyone know how these services are accounted for?
Would be great to see a Thomas Cook Airways basing a A320/757 at the airport. Unless you want to book a holiday with the Thomson Travel Group, your option of charter flights for package holidays is getting very limited from Luton. I would have thought one of the big companies would have noticed a whole in this market, as people from the North London and Home Counties have to travel LGW, BHX or EMA for a decent range of package destinations... There is a large portion of the market that still wants to travel on a package, and have the arragnements made for them in one simple booking...
I think STN is even more poorly served for charter flights!
In recent years, Monarch has been switching its Luton operations from charter to scheduled, and is now left with a very small charter programme. Cosmos, its sister company is offering a greater percentage of its departures from Gatwick and Manchester, to the detriment of other departure airports.
Thomsonfly seems to market about 50% of its current flights as 'scheduled', but with its change in emphasis back to the IT market in 2008, this may reduce. Overall, 2007 saw more Tfly departures than for some years, but perhaps fewer 'charters'.
First Choice will no longer base an A320 at Luton following the TUI merger.
The XL flights are being marketed as scheduled services, and their Cyprus flights are the spiritual successor to the Helios/Ajet operation.
Since the mid 1970s when Luton dominated the charter market, the airport seems to have concentrated on changing the mix to scheduled services - very successfully it would appear. So now we have an airport that's busy year-round, not just in summer.
I personally find it surprising that, with Luton's affluent and extensive catchment area, it has lost so much charter traffic to Gatwick, which has a smaller catchment, is more expensive for airlines to use, and is less efficient.
(Before anyone shouts, my definition of 'catchment' is population within 1 hr and 2hr travelling radius - a measure in which Luton is second only to Heathrow (and perhaps now LCY, which is unsuitable for charter traffic)).
Thomsonfly seems to market about 50% of its current flights as 'scheduled', but with its change in emphasis back to the IT market in 2008, this may reduce. Overall, 2007 saw more Tfly departures than for some years, but perhaps fewer 'charters'.
First Choice will no longer base an A320 at Luton following the TUI merger.
The XL flights are being marketed as scheduled services, and their Cyprus flights are the spiritual successor to the Helios/Ajet operation.
Since the mid 1970s when Luton dominated the charter market, the airport seems to have concentrated on changing the mix to scheduled services - very successfully it would appear. So now we have an airport that's busy year-round, not just in summer.
I personally find it surprising that, with Luton's affluent and extensive catchment area, it has lost so much charter traffic to Gatwick, which has a smaller catchment, is more expensive for airlines to use, and is less efficient.
(Before anyone shouts, my definition of 'catchment' is population within 1 hr and 2hr travelling radius - a measure in which Luton is second only to Heathrow (and perhaps now LCY, which is unsuitable for charter traffic)).
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: London Whipsnade Wildlife Park
Posts: 5,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I like the bendy bus, but I don't like the price! £1 if you pay the driver or £1.50 from a vending machine each way!
Who is the nutter scattering carrots around the airports site? Someone please tell him that encouraging birds and animals at an airport is really rather foolhardy and dangerous! Mind you, scattering fresh sarnies at Whipsnade is considered to be more than acceptable!
Who is the nutter scattering carrots around the airports site? Someone please tell him that encouraging birds and animals at an airport is really rather foolhardy and dangerous! Mind you, scattering fresh sarnies at Whipsnade is considered to be more than acceptable!
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,846
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Who is the nutter scattering carrots around the airports site? Someone please tell him that encouraging birds and animals at an airport is really rather foolhardy and dangerous!
He has had his photo in the papers many times as he picked up a fine for dropping a kit-kat wrapper outside the terminal and he has also been banned from entering airport land including the approach road for carrying around an air band radio. He still has his air band radio but he uses an earpiece now. The carrots are for the wild rabbits. I saw a dead rabbit on the grass last summer and beside it was a cross made out of chopped carrots. I think he is quite religious as he always signs the visitor’s book in the airport chapel.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Essex
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I personally find it surprising that, with Luton's affluent and extensive catchment area, it has lost so much charter traffic to Gatwick, which has a smaller catchment, is more expensive for airlines to use, and is less efficient.
Stunning!!!!
Stunning!!!!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: London Whipsnade Wildlife Park
Posts: 5,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: London Whipsnade Wildlife Park
Posts: 5,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
London LARS North goes 'live' during the first week of March using frequency 132.800, this is the final piece in the London LARS jigsaw. FIS RIS & RAS surrounding Luton and Stansted will be provided by Farnborough Radar.
LARS=Lower Airspace Radar Service.
LARS=Lower Airspace Radar Service.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: UK Home Counties
Posts: 338
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thomson's German owner TUI Travel has given its Crawley staff the choice of moving to the Wigmore Lane, Luton office or taking redundancy.
Guess the Wigmore Lane offices are cheaper than the Crawley location...??
Never one to miss an opportunity to knock LTN eh CAP493!?
Whatever the con's concerned for those affected, I can assure you the Wigmore office is a very impressive facility.Thomson have spent a considerable sum modifying the place to provide a good working enviroment.
BE
Whatever the con's concerned for those affected, I can assure you the Wigmore office is a very impressive facility.Thomson have spent a considerable sum modifying the place to provide a good working enviroment.
BE
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: UK Home Counties
Posts: 338
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Never one to miss an opportunity to knock LTN eh CAP493...
CAP473...Yes, I realise you were referring to the town and as I said before you never fail to miss an opportunity to knock it!!
You need to get out a bit more and visit some of the nearby big towns which are certainly not a lot to shout about!
It seems many are happy to make their living from Luton but then are also very quick to distance themself's from the place on internet forums such as this!!
You need to get out a bit more and visit some of the nearby big towns which are certainly not a lot to shout about!
It seems many are happy to make their living from Luton but then are also very quick to distance themself's from the place on internet forums such as this!!
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: west of the Tamar
Posts: 199
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Slightly off-topic I know, but today (Sunday 11/02/08) I ventured back to one of my old haunts at the viewing place close to the runway. Between about 1200 and 1315 the pace of biz-jet departures and arrivals was frenetic, every 2 minutes or so for some of this time, interspersed with airline traffic in an approximate 2 to 1 ratio. Is this level of biz-jet traffic usual for a Sunday these days?
I was at the same place yesterday, and it was very busy until early afternoon. I understand there is/was ATC industrial action in Europe somewhere, meaning more aircraft are departing with slots than usual. This seems to have had the effect of 'bunching' departures.
Still, Luton is extremely busy with biz-jets. It's not abnormal to see over 100 different aircraft during one day! Net Jets alone had 20 or so departures yesterday.
Still, Luton is extremely busy with biz-jets. It's not abnormal to see over 100 different aircraft during one day! Net Jets alone had 20 or so departures yesterday.
Regarding departures today, an American Gulfstream initally had a two hour slot delay which did improve later!
Certainly very busy with Exec movements with the Ground controller flat out!
Certainly very busy with Exec movements with the Ground controller flat out!
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,846
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you go to http://maps.live.com/ and type in LU2 9LY click on search maps and then (this is the important bit) click on birds eye view you will get a great summer 2006 view of Luton Airport that you can drag around. You can also zoom in up to 20 yds. This is a completely different shot and more up to date view than selecting aerial.
You can get rid of the box on the left to maximise the picture, now just count those biz jets scattered around the airport
You can get rid of the box on the left to maximise the picture, now just count those biz jets scattered around the airport
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: London Whipsnade Wildlife Park
Posts: 5,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Farnborough, located 40 miles south-west of the centre of London, replaced London Luton last year as the UK airport with the highest level of business aircraft flights. It has increased the number of take-offs and landings by 43 per cent in the past two years. Flights rose last year by 23 per cent from to 26,507, and in January business increased again by 11.5 per cent year-on-year.
Luton increased its business jet flights from 23,118 in 2006 to 25,627.
Farnborough airport, the most important base in the UK for private jet travel, is having to turn away customers because the surge in demand for business aviation is pushing the airport to its planning limits.
Luton increased its business jet flights from 23,118 in 2006 to 25,627.
Farnborough airport, the most important base in the UK for private jet travel, is having to turn away customers because the surge in demand for business aviation is pushing the airport to its planning limits.