LUTON -8
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What exactly do they hope to achieve? In the brutal world of commercialism and profit, they are just another victim. Was there a tendering process that ultimately saw Addison Lee appointed?
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As it is a private road the airport could if they wanted to ban any driver, which would stop them working for Addison Lee who did indeed win the contract. Not sure it is a good idea to make enemies of the towns Muslims, as you can never be sure how they will react.
Paxing All Over The World
Don't make an enemy of any ethnic group who have the ability to tell all their family and friends not to use your facility ... groups with stong ties can exert enormous financial power. I suspect that the person who thought that a nice simple contract with one company was the answer to the problem (and income) now has time to review their opinion.
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When Greenline lost their contract to National Express they went to court and won but it took a long time. These taxi drivers are self employed as far as I can make out so they are not going to just sit by and see themselves without a livelihood.
A few months ago people here were jumping up and down with glee at every announcement of news of a new airline or route. It was obvious enough to me that Luton was going to be in for a rough ride as the airport could not cope with last years summer rush and that was before the building work started so the taxi dispute is the icing on the cake.
I also wonder what the scene was like at Parkway as the shuttle buses would have ground to a halt. Sorry to say it but Luton really is an airport to avoid this year.
A few months ago people here were jumping up and down with glee at every announcement of news of a new airline or route. It was obvious enough to me that Luton was going to be in for a rough ride as the airport could not cope with last years summer rush and that was before the building work started so the taxi dispute is the icing on the cake.
I also wonder what the scene was like at Parkway as the shuttle buses would have ground to a halt. Sorry to say it but Luton really is an airport to avoid this year.
Last edited by LTNman; 2nd Jun 2016 at 06:48.
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Those Muslim taxi drivers are now feeling the pain the non-Muslim drivers felt when they had their business squeezed and then eliminated a few years back! I know a chap that ran a thriving Private Hire business in Luton that was forced to close for those reasons.
Not that I think Addison Lee are any better, but the last time I got a taxi from the CTA to Wigmore area I was charged £12! Normally, a trip of equal distance would cost around £5 + the obvious drop off charge. That £12 escalated sitting in the Luton traffic.
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Does anyone know when easyJet will announce any plane for W16? I'm hoping for some new routes but with the current state of the airport I think there won't be much growth, maybe just some needed additional frequencies on current services.
I have also noticed some things that easyJet could pick up on to attract more passengers. I know the slots or aircraft might not be available to do these things but it's something they could think about;
Munich - there are currently 5 weekly flights, but they are all in the evening. They could do with having the Monday, Wednesday & Friday flights in the morning better for business travelers and weekend leisure passengers. Then having Thursday & Sunday as evening flights. They could even increase the service to daily.
Rome - same as Munich most flights are in the evening not really beneficial for weekend breaks.
Madrid - there is currently only 1 flight out of 7 per week that offers a morning rotation and this is on a Saturday. Will not attract business travelers or weekend leisure passengers. At least a morning rotation on a Friday & Monday will help. It could have done with going 2 daily, just like Lisbon has done recently. There has been a drop in passengers numbers on the Luton-Madrid-Luton sector compared to previous years.
Also is their any need for easyJet to be operating certain routes out of Stansted still? Why don't they base the aircraft over at Luton in order to switch services like Asturias, Bilbao, Cagliari, Dalaman, Zakynthos, Prague & Ljubljana over to Luton to enhance the route network. Then easyJet could use other based aircraft in Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Belfast to operate to flights to Stansted as these our important sectors.
I have also noticed some things that easyJet could pick up on to attract more passengers. I know the slots or aircraft might not be available to do these things but it's something they could think about;
Munich - there are currently 5 weekly flights, but they are all in the evening. They could do with having the Monday, Wednesday & Friday flights in the morning better for business travelers and weekend leisure passengers. Then having Thursday & Sunday as evening flights. They could even increase the service to daily.
Rome - same as Munich most flights are in the evening not really beneficial for weekend breaks.
Madrid - there is currently only 1 flight out of 7 per week that offers a morning rotation and this is on a Saturday. Will not attract business travelers or weekend leisure passengers. At least a morning rotation on a Friday & Monday will help. It could have done with going 2 daily, just like Lisbon has done recently. There has been a drop in passengers numbers on the Luton-Madrid-Luton sector compared to previous years.
Also is their any need for easyJet to be operating certain routes out of Stansted still? Why don't they base the aircraft over at Luton in order to switch services like Asturias, Bilbao, Cagliari, Dalaman, Zakynthos, Prague & Ljubljana over to Luton to enhance the route network. Then easyJet could use other based aircraft in Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Belfast to operate to flights to Stansted as these our important sectors.
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If the airport management team has any sense they will say no to any expansion until the winter of 2017. I also find it hard to believe that easyjet would contemplate moving any route from Stansted to Luton or introduce any additional services from Luton when they can look out of their windows every day and see what is going on.
I just don't understand the fixation here about the desire to cram more and more passengers through an airport that can't handle what it already has. If I was Mr Passenger heading for Luton and got stuck at the bottom of the hill in a major traffic jam and then if I did make it through the airport into departures and had a bad time there with nowhere to sit I would be making sure next year I went from a different airport if I had a choice.
I just don't understand the fixation here about the desire to cram more and more passengers through an airport that can't handle what it already has. If I was Mr Passenger heading for Luton and got stuck at the bottom of the hill in a major traffic jam and then if I did make it through the airport into departures and had a bad time there with nowhere to sit I would be making sure next year I went from a different airport if I had a choice.
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AvGeek1
You make a good point about certain routes such as MUC which goes 5x weekly from LTN and a daily afternoon from STN. It does raise the question of would it make more sense to consolidate the route at either LTN or STN with 10 or 11 weekly flights with morning / evening rotations?
On what basis though do you envisage EZY switching the likes of Asturias, Bilbao, Ljubljana etc. over to LTN? If EZY believed they could sustain a better return on these routes at LTN then I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to move them.
This is exactly the sort of thing discussed over on the Stansted thread just yesterday. I think what you meant to say is that it would enhance the route network... from your favorite airport that is LTN.
You make a good point about certain routes such as MUC which goes 5x weekly from LTN and a daily afternoon from STN. It does raise the question of would it make more sense to consolidate the route at either LTN or STN with 10 or 11 weekly flights with morning / evening rotations?
On what basis though do you envisage EZY switching the likes of Asturias, Bilbao, Ljubljana etc. over to LTN? If EZY believed they could sustain a better return on these routes at LTN then I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to move them.
This is exactly the sort of thing discussed over on the Stansted thread just yesterday. I think what you meant to say is that it would enhance the route network... from your favorite airport that is LTN.
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AvGeek1
You make a good point about certain routes such as MUC which goes 5x weekly from LTN and a daily afternoon from STN. It does raise the question of would it make more sense to consolidate the route at either LTN or STN with 10 or 11 weekly flights with morning / evening rotations?
On what basis though do you envisage EZY switching the likes of Asturias, Bilbao, Ljubljana etc. over to LTN? If EZY believed they could sustain a better return on these routes at LTN then I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to move them.
This is exactly the sort of thing discussed over on the Stansted thread just yesterday. I think what you meant to say is that it would enhance the route network... from your favorite airport that is LTN.
You make a good point about certain routes such as MUC which goes 5x weekly from LTN and a daily afternoon from STN. It does raise the question of would it make more sense to consolidate the route at either LTN or STN with 10 or 11 weekly flights with morning / evening rotations?
On what basis though do you envisage EZY switching the likes of Asturias, Bilbao, Ljubljana etc. over to LTN? If EZY believed they could sustain a better return on these routes at LTN then I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to move them.
This is exactly the sort of thing discussed over on the Stansted thread just yesterday. I think what you meant to say is that it would enhance the route network... from your favorite airport that is LTN.
LTNman as I said I personally know the airport is at overcapacity and it would be bad to add more capacity, but this hasn't stopped them in the past. I was also thinking about the future, when the expansion has nearly been completed and airlines will be able to grow.
Also your example of Mr.Passenger was quite interesting as the airport has had these traffic problems for years it's just gotten worse and it has been voted the UK's worst airport multiple times. But this hasn't stopped passengers numbers significantly rising, exceeding the airports expectations.
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Direct flights to Zurich with Vueling, which were due to start on the 12 June, don't seem bookable now until 1 August. They continue to be available into the winter period, despite originally stating it was a "summer only" service.
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Vueling have been very strange with their schedules, quite inconsistent. Barcelona flights were operating on and off before they were suppose to be launched many times. Also the Florence flights are operated through May and June and then end. Very strange about Zurich also.
In other news, yet another Transavia flight delayed tonight, 3 hour delay and flight operating with a Privallege Style 767. Transavia have been awful with punctuality really not good, even on days that the French ATC haven't been on strike which is not many! Although who experiences on time flights from Luton these days anyway!
In other news, yet another Transavia flight delayed tonight, 3 hour delay and flight operating with a Privallege Style 767. Transavia have been awful with punctuality really not good, even on days that the French ATC haven't been on strike which is not many! Although who experiences on time flights from Luton these days anyway!
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Add to that car hire collection and even the drop off zone where if you went far enough back you could park up and go inside the old terminal for a cup of tea. Little airports like Southampton and Southend wish they were as busy as Luton is today though with all the pain that causes the passenger.
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True. I passed through Exeter yesterday for the first time. Small, unhurried, very friendly staff. Used the exec lounge, i had the whole place to myself!! A wonderful experience, when compared to Luton, which I had last used two weeks before. So, be careful for what you wish for.
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Luton has a huge catchment area and has alot of airlines that price fares low. This will always attract people regardless of "chaos". For the majority it will always be about how much cheaper will the flight be rather than "the 45 random minutes i sat waiting for a plane were delightful". I look at an airport like a bus stop, I don't think anyone going to LTN expects luxury and peace and quiet. They just want the next ride to whatever destination for an affordable price. The numbers keep rising despite the apparent "misery".
The only problem luton might have in the near term is if travel becomes harder/ more bureaucratic if we vote on an exit from the Eu. I don't see that even remotely happening but it could cause a decline in pax numbers if you need to go through hassle rather then just spending 2 mins on a budget airline website. Thats about it.
The only problem luton might have in the near term is if travel becomes harder/ more bureaucratic if we vote on an exit from the Eu. I don't see that even remotely happening but it could cause a decline in pax numbers if you need to go through hassle rather then just spending 2 mins on a budget airline website. Thats about it.