LUTON -8
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Probably the same guys that tiled the terminal floor.
Don't know what the story is with Signature. They got planning permission in 2012 and still the new FBO hasn't been built. They only recently put in yet another planning application stating that they could not build to the original approved plans.
When work is started I will put a few photos here taken inside Signature in the final days as I don't think there are any photos taken inside Signature online.
Don't know what the story is with Signature. They got planning permission in 2012 and still the new FBO hasn't been built. They only recently put in yet another planning application stating that they could not build to the original approved plans.
When work is started I will put a few photos here taken inside Signature in the final days as I don't think there are any photos taken inside Signature online.
Last edited by LTNman; 7th Jul 2015 at 15:47.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Unless things have changed in the last 3 months the Signatures offices were going to remain after the hangars were knocked down. After the new FBO was built the existing offices were then to be removed but with a new planning applications being submitted maybe that is now not the case.
The work in the NWC, which I thought was skimming, was just to remove a section of concrete so a trench could be dug for electicity. A fence has also been erected so that would fit in with Busters comments.
Access to Gulfstream's hangar has been maintained while the South stands have replaced the NWC for aircraft parking.
With the closure on June 30th of a large chunk of the staff car park by the south stands I was optimistic that at last work was starting on phase 1 on the CTA but today the whole of the staff car park is once again full of cars. For the week the car park was empty it wasn't touched so I have no idea if start dates have been once again put back.
The mystery of the new zebra crossing next to the existing one in the bus station has been solved, as all they are doing is doubling the width of the existing one. It was reported here a few posts back that the bus station was moving in August. I find that hard to believe as work has not started on its replacement.
Work on gutting most of the old arrivals building was completed a week ago but since than not much has happened. Plans are in place to substantially reduce the seating area of Burger King as partitions will soon be put in place so the wall from the former arrivals building can be taken down.
The work in the NWC, which I thought was skimming, was just to remove a section of concrete so a trench could be dug for electicity. A fence has also been erected so that would fit in with Busters comments.
Access to Gulfstream's hangar has been maintained while the South stands have replaced the NWC for aircraft parking.
With the closure on June 30th of a large chunk of the staff car park by the south stands I was optimistic that at last work was starting on phase 1 on the CTA but today the whole of the staff car park is once again full of cars. For the week the car park was empty it wasn't touched so I have no idea if start dates have been once again put back.
The mystery of the new zebra crossing next to the existing one in the bus station has been solved, as all they are doing is doubling the width of the existing one. It was reported here a few posts back that the bus station was moving in August. I find that hard to believe as work has not started on its replacement.
Work on gutting most of the old arrivals building was completed a week ago but since than not much has happened. Plans are in place to substantially reduce the seating area of Burger King as partitions will soon be put in place so the wall from the former arrivals building can be taken down.
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: A place you do not know
Posts: 513
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Luton airport is preparing for its busiest ever summer period with 2.6 million passengers expected to travel through in July and August.
Passenger numbers at Luton grew by 16 per cent in June compared with the same month last year..Does anyone know the exact number for June?
Looking good for the 11.5 million mark as 2 new airlines will start next week with 2 weekly services.
Sun Express- Izmir
Air Nostrum- Vigo
Passenger numbers at Luton grew by 16 per cent in June compared with the same month last year..Does anyone know the exact number for June?
Looking good for the 11.5 million mark as 2 new airlines will start next week with 2 weekly services.
Sun Express- Izmir
Air Nostrum- Vigo
Last edited by Boeing737-8; 9th Jul 2015 at 22:27.
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: A place you do not know
Posts: 513
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Record breaking summer for London Luton Airport - London Luton Airport
Also Sunexpress started this morning with a 737-800
Also Sunexpress started this morning with a 737-800
I see its now regularly becoming total chaos at the Holiday Inn roundabout during weekday evenings!
I drove by around 7pm yesterday and the roundabout was solid with traffic going into the airport with many drivers reluctant to let traffic in from Percival Way! Its not helped by the number of taxi's and cars that park-up in Spittlesea Rd waiting to pick up passengers and then just pull out on Percival Way cutting in front of the queuing traffic !
I drove by around 7pm yesterday and the roundabout was solid with traffic going into the airport with many drivers reluctant to let traffic in from Percival Way! Its not helped by the number of taxi's and cars that park-up in Spittlesea Rd waiting to pick up passengers and then just pull out on Percival Way cutting in front of the queuing traffic !
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The traffic although backed up to the Ibis is still moving at a faster pace than when the airport had those ridiculous traffic lights to control arriving traffic to the CTA that had to cross those leaving the airport.
Today's queues are caused by most drivers not spotting the additional drop off area that is often empty while the main drop off area is full. Sometimes there is someone to direct traffic which makes a big difference.
Today's queues are caused by most drivers not spotting the additional drop off area that is often empty while the main drop off area is full. Sometimes there is someone to direct traffic which makes a big difference.
Airliner World magazine report that Atlantic Star will be Luton-based. It seems likely to operate a leased Icelandair 757 to start with. Services to both St Helena and Ascension are planned.
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: GIB
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think St Helena is still building its airport with a short runway so maybe Ascension is a fuel stop.
The runway is indeed still being finished, however the length is fine.
The entire Atlantic Star business model, such that it is, is built around direct services.
The 'officially endorsed' / contracted service will be Comair to JNB.
Two issues with this, for leisure, it means a connection.
For Saints, they would prefer to be connected to Cape town, where they have established family links rather than Joberg.
As said, the atlantic star business model is based around direct UK(london) connection to st helena.
But even though leisure travel is hoped to be a big new market for the island, this is not mass market, and it is not normal market, this is a very niche type of business we are talking, and heavily skewed towards top end price wise.
What Ascension is, is it is the closest divert. However, currently you cant designate it as a civilian aircraft (only VERY limited nonscheduled civilian traffic is allowed). Hence the Commair service will use airports in Africa as the divert.
Atlantic Star hope to negotiate better access to Ascension island. And for there they could onwards serve the Falkland Islands.
But Ascension is caught up in a huge range of different issues.
Any venture such as this is likley to be highly speculative (without a contract to provide service for someone). So we really can not apply any standard models to examine them.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
4700 miles to St Helena as the crow flies. New York is 3439 miles away. According to Saint Helena Island Info: All about St.*Helena ? Fly here? there will be a refueling stop in West Africa. The runway length appears to be 1550m, which is a tad over 5000ft.
Apparently Lubango Airport in Angola at a distance of 1,300 miles (2,100 km) is the closest diversionary airport for which every inbound aircraft must carry enough fuel reserve, limiting its load capacity as Ascension can't be used as it is a military airfield.
So what will the aircraft do when it is not flying to St Helena every two weeks? Will it live at Luton with its maintenance facilities picking up other work?
Apparently Lubango Airport in Angola at a distance of 1,300 miles (2,100 km) is the closest diversionary airport for which every inbound aircraft must carry enough fuel reserve, limiting its load capacity as Ascension can't be used as it is a military airfield.
So what will the aircraft do when it is not flying to St Helena every two weeks? Will it live at Luton with its maintenance facilities picking up other work?
Last edited by LTNman; 13th Jul 2015 at 06:51.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Luton Airport is 5th busiest within AENA network
LUTON AIRPORT IS FIFTH BUSIEST WITHIN AENA NETWORK | Spain | Leader - News, Sport, Spanish Property, Advertising, Classifieds - Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain
The Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, has announced that Luton Airport (London) is now the fifth busiest airport in terms of traffic within the AENA network, having recorded growth of close to 15% in the first half of 2015, with 5.7 million passengers.
During her visit to London, Ana Pastor met with several Spanish business leaders and visited Luton Airport, of which Aena Internacional owns 51% of the shares in the concession.
The Minister for Public Works pointed out that Luton Airport has "considerable capacity for growth" and an infrastructure which is "very significant for Spanish interests, as Spain is the world leader in the airport sector, and hence we want to further develop this airport".
To this end, Ana Pastor explained that the concession contract included a commitment to invest approximately 110 million pounds sterling, aimed at increasing the capacity of the airport from 12 million to 18 million passengers.
She also mentioned that they are currently involved in a tender process for the works on Phase 1, for the sum of 65 million pounds sterling, for the construction of a new bridge for the embarking and disembarking of passengers, the reform of the shopping area, the relocation of security controls and the expansion of the departure lounge in the main terminal.
Similarly, access roads are to be improved and a new multi-storey car park will be constructed.
Great opportunities for the infrastructure sector
The Minister for Public Works also explained that during her meeting with Spanish business leaders in London, she explained to them that the current infrastructure projects announced by the Government of the United Kingdom - for more than 130 billion euros over five years - represent a great opportunity for extraordinary business activity for Spanish companies that are world leaders in sectors such as construction, infrastructure management and high-speed railways.
Ana Pastor highlighted that in the last 10 years the United Kingdom has awarded infrastructure contracts worth more than 32 billion euros to Spanish companies that participated in tender processes.
The Minister for Public Works made a commitment for her ministerial department to support Spanish companies as far as possible in helping them continue opening up new markets and maintain their expansion in the foreign trade sector.
---------------
Good news story except that the report mentions phase one is still open to tender!!!! WHAT!!!!! Remember phase one was meant to have started in the 1st quarter and now we are in the 3rd quarter. So far the airport is still in the enabling phase that should have been finished last year.
While the staff car park as already mentioned here has reopened the former car park at easyland is now empty of all cars. Also there is still little activity in the former arrivals area after it was partially gutted.
The Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, has announced that Luton Airport (London) is now the fifth busiest airport in terms of traffic within the AENA network, having recorded growth of close to 15% in the first half of 2015, with 5.7 million passengers.
During her visit to London, Ana Pastor met with several Spanish business leaders and visited Luton Airport, of which Aena Internacional owns 51% of the shares in the concession.
The Minister for Public Works pointed out that Luton Airport has "considerable capacity for growth" and an infrastructure which is "very significant for Spanish interests, as Spain is the world leader in the airport sector, and hence we want to further develop this airport".
To this end, Ana Pastor explained that the concession contract included a commitment to invest approximately 110 million pounds sterling, aimed at increasing the capacity of the airport from 12 million to 18 million passengers.
She also mentioned that they are currently involved in a tender process for the works on Phase 1, for the sum of 65 million pounds sterling, for the construction of a new bridge for the embarking and disembarking of passengers, the reform of the shopping area, the relocation of security controls and the expansion of the departure lounge in the main terminal.
Similarly, access roads are to be improved and a new multi-storey car park will be constructed.
Great opportunities for the infrastructure sector
The Minister for Public Works also explained that during her meeting with Spanish business leaders in London, she explained to them that the current infrastructure projects announced by the Government of the United Kingdom - for more than 130 billion euros over five years - represent a great opportunity for extraordinary business activity for Spanish companies that are world leaders in sectors such as construction, infrastructure management and high-speed railways.
Ana Pastor highlighted that in the last 10 years the United Kingdom has awarded infrastructure contracts worth more than 32 billion euros to Spanish companies that participated in tender processes.
The Minister for Public Works made a commitment for her ministerial department to support Spanish companies as far as possible in helping them continue opening up new markets and maintain their expansion in the foreign trade sector.
---------------
Good news story except that the report mentions phase one is still open to tender!!!! WHAT!!!!! Remember phase one was meant to have started in the 1st quarter and now we are in the 3rd quarter. So far the airport is still in the enabling phase that should have been finished last year.
While the staff car park as already mentioned here has reopened the former car park at easyland is now empty of all cars. Also there is still little activity in the former arrivals area after it was partially gutted.
Last edited by LTNman; 13th Jul 2015 at 13:49.
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: -
Posts: 747
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
the reform of the shopping area
Have you seen the new "Transforming LLA" website?
http://transforminglla.com
I notice they have a Twitter feed on the page and if you click on it, you can see peoples tweets. Lots of people complaining about lack of seating and queues, and the airport just responds by regurgitating the same "We're investing £100m in the airport..."
Last edited by gilesdavies; 13th Jul 2015 at 17:35.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The new canopy and bus station with the new pier to the right. Also the new detached travel centre can just be seen in front of the pier. There also appears to be a covered walkway to the drop off area.
Terminal extension for arrivals with new exits showing and the "industrial" ceiling with pipework on show
Ground floor security
Multistory car park to the right and bridge from the car park
Terminal extension for arrivals with new exits showing and the "industrial" ceiling with pipework on show
Ground floor security
Multistory car park to the right and bridge from the car park
Last edited by LTNman; 13th Jul 2015 at 21:33.
Now, if only they were sufficiently organised to order enough 3-ply paper for the gate printers, they might have the makings of a decent airport.
The 3-ply paper is used to print passenger manifests and loadsheets for each and every flight, and is thus rather important. The airport apparently ran out of this on Friday and it had still not been supplied by Monday lunchtime
The 3-ply paper is used to print passenger manifests and loadsheets for each and every flight, and is thus rather important. The airport apparently ran out of this on Friday and it had still not been supplied by Monday lunchtime
LTNman - thanks for posting the pictures.
They are very attractive but look completely unrealistic of what passengers should expect, especially for an airport whose main clients are LCCs focussed on paying minimal airport charges - if only because they show a near-empty airport with very few passengers. If a LCC-centric passenger airport was typically that quiet, it suggests it has invested far too much money and is likely to have a big pile of debt with nowhere near enough passengers to pay off the loan.
They are very attractive but look completely unrealistic of what passengers should expect, especially for an airport whose main clients are LCCs focussed on paying minimal airport charges - if only because they show a near-empty airport with very few passengers. If a LCC-centric passenger airport was typically that quiet, it suggests it has invested far too much money and is likely to have a big pile of debt with nowhere near enough passengers to pay off the loan.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
Posts: 9,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Now, if only they were sufficiently organised to order enough 3-ply paper for the gate printers, they might have the makings of a decent airport.
On that issue I can't see how you can blame the airport for an issue with a handling agent.
I can blame the airport if they don't at last lay down some proper tarmac in the short term car park.
What needs to be noted is that the canopy and bus station runs the full length of not only the terminal extension but the existing terminal as well. The departures entrance seen in the top photo is a new entrance that will be cut into the existing wall of the terminal. That wall will have new cladding so maybe the word Tinimal can no longer be used here.
Last edited by LTNman; 13th Jul 2015 at 21:32.
Quote:
Now, if only they were sufficiently organised to order enough 3-ply paper for the gate printers, they might have the makings of a decent airport.
On that issue I can't see how you can blame the airport for an issue with a handling agent.
I can blame the airport if they don't at last lay down some proper tarmac in the short term car park.
Now, if only they were sufficiently organised to order enough 3-ply paper for the gate printers, they might have the makings of a decent airport.
On that issue I can't see how you can blame the airport for an issue with a handling agent.
I can blame the airport if they don't at last lay down some proper tarmac in the short term car park.
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Luton
Posts: 548
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
gate printers
Just to re-affirm the issue with the gate printers. These are old dot matrix type printers which still do the job WHEN properly maintained. Most of the print cartridges don't get replaced when exhausted which means printing everything twice as the airlines like 3 copies and the top copy is too faint to be usable. Aircrew also (mistakenly) see this as a failing by the handling agent, so, just to reiterate it's the AIRPORT who SHOULD be doing a far better job ensuring equipment it provides is always kept in working order. NOT the handling agents! who often have to resort to printing loadsheets on their own printer which may be hundreds of yards away from the gate where the aircraft is.