LUTON -8

[Scrotchidson]

Also why is there a tender for aircraft steps unless the handling agents have to lease them from the airport rather than buy their own?

The airport ran a successful trial during the summer where the handling agents shared the same equipment leased from the airport and that'll be the plan going forward at some point.

[Boeing737-8]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yepjSYgESZI
As can be seen on this video. Each stand gets allocated steps and all equipment which has the gate number on it.

[LTNman]

Luton: Passenger boarding bridges and stairs for aircraft

The wording of the overview

Short description of the contract or purchase(s):
This is a Contract for the Supply and Provision including maintenance of specific items of Ground Service Equipment (GSE) for a period of 3 years with a possibility of two one year extensions subject to performance. The target date for this contract to commence is 1.4.2016 (with 4 weeks phasing in)

Really don't know what to make out about the title of the tender. With a price of up to £9 million it seems somewhat high for ground equipment I would have thought. I would be happier if the word build was used rather than supply but maybe I am splitting hairs if the airbridges are supplied, assembled on site and then just connected to the piers.

[robbie1973]

New route

Another new route -

Adria Airways to Pristina starting on 19th June 2016 operating once weekly on a Sunday by A319 A/C

JP426 18:20 PRN - 20:45 LTN 319 7

JP427 21:30 LTN - 01:50 PRN 319 7

Not the best flight times but still good for Luton

[Boeing737-8]

WOW
I didn't believe that rumour but maybe it's true. Not book able but there is a few sources saying about the route.
16 airlines
4 seasonal airlines
Maybe see more expansion from Adria with Maribor. I don't believe this will be the last new airline at LTN for the summer 16

[wallp]

Originally Posted by Boeing737-8

WOW
I didn't believe that rumour but maybe it's true. Not book able but there is a few sources saying about the route.
16 airlines
4 seasonal airlines
Maybe see more expansion from Adria with Maribor. I don't believe this will be the last new airline at LTN for the summer 16

Didn't Adria have a short lived flirtation with Lutom fairly recently? Hopefully this time comes with longevity.

It's great to see more and more airlines signing up to LTN. I guess the airport operators, whilst recognising the dominance of easyJet and Wizz, want to do what they can to reduce the reliance on them

[pabely]

WOW
I didn't believe that rumour but maybe it's true. Not book able but there is a few sources saying about the route.

Now you are not suggesting an Icelandic airline now?

[runway08]

Didn't Adria have a short lived flirtation with Lutom fairly recently? Hopefully this time comes with longevity.

They were replaced by Wizz werent they?

They seem to be a rather erratic airline that have recenelty turned things around after about 5 or 6 years of losses. Its good to have a new airline/route but yeah.. Adria, we shall see. Lets hope it goes well.

I don't believe this will be the last new airline at LTN for the summer 16

Me either, I think some promising things will be revealed soon.

[gilesdavies]

Didn't Adria have a short lived flirtation with Lutom fairly recently? Hopefully this time comes with longevity.

Yes they flew charters for Yugotours in 1990, I flew them to Split that year on probably one of the first few A320's built!
(It beat the clapped out JAT DC-9's and Aviogenex 727's we flew on the previous years!)

Their London strategy is a bit messy and very fragmented. They are currently displaying London to Ljubljana as operating from Gatwick as twice weekly, this is as last year.

They then chose to operate to Maribor and this was flown from Southend. There is no sign of Southend to Maribor on the booking system, and now this year they are looking at flying a route from Luton.

Adria in recent years seem to be quite an opportunistic airline, while having some bread and butter routes to and from their home base/hub at Ljubljana. They have been dabbling in routes from Albania, Austria and Germany, but the moment competition appears, they seem to shut up shop and move away.

This probably explains the airlines financial woes and how they have sold of many parts, like ground handling and maintenance.

[cj241101]

Adria

Quote:
Didn't Adria have a short lived flirtation with Luton fairly recently?

Recently is as long ago as summer 2012 when they did Ljubljana 4 days a week from 25th March to 2nd October using a mixture of CRJ-200, CRJ-900 and A319 aircraft.
They had a summer charter programme every year from 1975 to 1991 using DC-9-30's/50's and MD80's, and were the first regular A320 operator into Luton in May 1989. The war in the Balkans killed off the tourist trade to Yugoslavia for several years after 1991, although Adria did base a DC-9/MD-80 peak summer 1992 but flying on behalf of British Air Ferries.
My earliest records have them operating a DC-6, I think to Ljubljana, on Sundays in the summer of 1967, plus a weekly DC-9 on Saturdays summer 1971.

[runway08]

Pretty sure I saw an Antonov 12 there tonight.

[Buster the Bear]

UR-CBG was the Antonov.

[runway08]

Cool. I gather someone needed an engine moving?

[Buster the Bear]

I believe it to be returning next week?

[runway08]

Oh fantastic! There wouldnt be a date on that would there? Would bring back memories of the old Antonov Design Bureau machines that used to make those smokey approaches in the 90s. Would totaly go photograph that.

[cj241101]

cavok

The AN12 took an orchestra (I imagine just the instruments) to Las Palmas. Back on 12th 1200-1500.

[runway08]

Appreciated, lol could you imagine the actual orchestra back there.

[LTNman]

I imagine just the instruments

Probably cheaper to rent an aircraft than put them in the hold of a Ryanair aircraft and pay them excess luggage fees. .

[Boeing737-8]

After looking at Wizz weekly departures I though I would look at Luton's other main player. Wizz was 342 for August 2016
Easyjet 2016
Aberdeen - 5 weekly
Alicante - 14 weekly
Amsterdam - 25 weekly
Antalya - 2 weekly
Barcelona - 14 weekly
Basel - 7 weekly
Belfast - 23 weekly
Berlin - 13 weekly
Bodrum - 2 weekly
Bordeaux - 8 weekly
Catania - 3 weekly
Copenhagen - 19 weekly
Corfu - 5 weekly
Heraklion - 2 weekly
Paphos - 4 weekly
Dortmund - 6 weekly
Edinburgh - 21 weekly
Essaouira - 2 weekly
Faro - 16 weekly
Geneva - 12 weekly
Glasgow - 15 weekly
Hamburg - 6 weekly
Ibiza - 7 weekly
Inverness - 11 weekly
Jersey - 5 weekly
Lisbon - 14 weekly
Lyon - 5 weekly
Madrid - 7 weekly
Palma - 21 weekly
Malaga - 17 weekly
Mahon - 8 weekly
Milan - 11 weekly
Montpellier - 4 weekly
Munich - 4 weekly
Mykonos - 2 weekly
Naples - 4 weekly
Nice - 15 weekly
Olbia - 2 weekly
Paris - 16 weekly
Pisa - 8 weekly
Porto - 3 weekly
Reykjavik - 4 weekly
Rome - 5 weekly
Sharm El Sheikh - 5 weekly but pending on if the flight carries on
Split - 4 weekly
Tel Aviv - 11 weekly
Venice - 5 weekly
Vienna - 4 weekly
Zurich - 7 weekly
I make this as 433 weekly flights a week from Easyjet. Quite a few more than 342 from Wizz but with smaller aircraft being used. Between this 2 airlines we will see 775 weekly flights a week. Incredible

[wallp]

There's definite scope to grow some of these routes further like

Aberdeen
Geneva
Glasgow
Madrid
Munich
Porto
Reykjavik
Rome
Vienna
Zurich

Surely all of these routes could comfortably accommodate an increased schedule?