LUTON -8
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When the tunnel under the taxiway was first constructed, wasn't the original plan to include some sort of rail link adjacent to the roadway which would have come right in to the central area?
Building a road or railway line on top of flat level ground comes at a relatively modest price. Once you try to put the route in the air (eg viaduct / elevated stilts) or underground in a tunnel, the costs increase dramatically.
Adding a railway spur to tunnel under the terminal with associated lifts while complying with fire rules (the fuel inherent in an airport doesn't help) and line resignalling will be expensive, time consuming and rather disruptive to the lives of others during the construction process.
Not saying it won't happen, but there needs to be a very strong commercial motive for this. Perhaps easier and cheaper to double the number of buses per hour instead ?
I know we've discussed the walking distance before, but since the Kimpton Road exit opened at the station, is there a reason why there are no street signs indicating the walking route between airport and Parkway station ? It's less than a mile and no longer involves walking on a dual carriageway.
Adding a railway spur to tunnel under the terminal with associated lifts while complying with fire rules (the fuel inherent in an airport doesn't help) and line resignalling will be expensive, time consuming and rather disruptive to the lives of others during the construction process.
Not saying it won't happen, but there needs to be a very strong commercial motive for this. Perhaps easier and cheaper to double the number of buses per hour instead ?
I know we've discussed the walking distance before, but since the Kimpton Road exit opened at the station, is there a reason why there are no street signs indicating the walking route between airport and Parkway station ? It's less than a mile and no longer involves walking on a dual carriageway.
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 15th Feb 2014 at 18:03.
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The original plan was to put a 'people-mover' ("horizontal lift") through the tunnel from the main terminal building which would have been next to/over the main railway line to departures at the top of the hill.
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Article here by Anna Aero with some interesting stats but no new information:
London Luton Airport growth driven by Wizz Air and Monarch Airlines
London Luton Airport growth driven by Wizz Air and Monarch Airlines
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Good, This is Monarchs home. They are great to fly with in all my experiences over the years.
Interesting the final lines of the article.
Irish and Scandinavian routes we have all been hinting about for long enough, Seems they are aware there is demand. NY & Moscow would be very welcome!!! 
Interesting the final lines of the article.
However, the airport acknowledges there are gaps in its network offering and its top 10 wish list of destinations include Athens, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Moscow, New York, Oslo, Shannon, Stockholm, Vienna and Waterford.
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If Luton attracts a scheduled operator that will fly a regular service to New York this decade, I will twerk semi-naked on the 26 threshold whilst wearing a *atford shirt!!
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The airports wish list of destinations makes interesting reading.
Athens could perhaps be a route opportunity for Monarch who it's great to see expanding so significantly at their home airport this summer.
Copenhagen, Oslo & Stockholm reflect comments many of us have been making on here for a while. Scandinavia is a big gap in Luton's coverage but is there anyone to take on BA/SAS/Norwegian? I still think easyJet could have a go. They serve CPH from STN so why not Luton?
Same with Frankfurt. easyJet shy away from it so can't see who would take it on?
Moscow is difficult given the restrictions on airlines operating the route so can't see that happening any time soon.
Vienna could be an opportunity for Wizz perhaps?
Shannon would presumably mean Ryanair but they don't seem to be showing much interest in Luton just now.
Waterford has been much discussed and it's great to see it on the wish list, but question is who might give it a go now that Flybe are out of the picture?
As for New York, haven't El-Al hinted at a Tel Aviv to JFK service via Luton?
Athens could perhaps be a route opportunity for Monarch who it's great to see expanding so significantly at their home airport this summer.
Copenhagen, Oslo & Stockholm reflect comments many of us have been making on here for a while. Scandinavia is a big gap in Luton's coverage but is there anyone to take on BA/SAS/Norwegian? I still think easyJet could have a go. They serve CPH from STN so why not Luton?
Same with Frankfurt. easyJet shy away from it so can't see who would take it on?
Moscow is difficult given the restrictions on airlines operating the route so can't see that happening any time soon.
Vienna could be an opportunity for Wizz perhaps?
Shannon would presumably mean Ryanair but they don't seem to be showing much interest in Luton just now.
Waterford has been much discussed and it's great to see it on the wish list, but question is who might give it a go now that Flybe are out of the picture?
As for New York, haven't El-Al hinted at a Tel Aviv to JFK service via Luton?
Lee - worth remembering that Tarom operate maybe 300 departing seats per week from Luton. Luton sees an average of about 140,000 departing seats per week in August. Tarom may be in an airline alliance, but in terms of passenger throughput at Luton, Tarom are tiny. For every 1 available Tarom seat at Luton, there are over 400 seats on other carriers.
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I think Athens and maybe Shannon are the only realistic ones there.
The issue with Frankfurt is a mixture of high operating costs and slot constraints, with an element of restrictions in operating hours. There is no real incentive for the airport to do any special deals for the locos, it is pretty full without them and could undermine existing business.
Moscow would require extra slots to London for a Russian carrier. And tourism potential is constrained by onerous visa requirements. The EZY service uses the BMI rights BA were forced to give up. I would think LCY will see Moscow service long before LTN/STN would (when the C Series arrives)
Wizz won't touch Vienna, too close to Bratislava and not cheap. The route has come and gone from both LTN and STN in the past, it's not impossible but it wouldn't be the most obvious choice to start again
Scandinavia, I'm afraid LTN is at the back of a queue fronted by LGW and STN.
Waterford has been discussed to death
The issue with Frankfurt is a mixture of high operating costs and slot constraints, with an element of restrictions in operating hours. There is no real incentive for the airport to do any special deals for the locos, it is pretty full without them and could undermine existing business.
Moscow would require extra slots to London for a Russian carrier. And tourism potential is constrained by onerous visa requirements. The EZY service uses the BMI rights BA were forced to give up. I would think LCY will see Moscow service long before LTN/STN would (when the C Series arrives)
Wizz won't touch Vienna, too close to Bratislava and not cheap. The route has come and gone from both LTN and STN in the past, it's not impossible but it wouldn't be the most obvious choice to start again
Scandinavia, I'm afraid LTN is at the back of a queue fronted by LGW and STN.
Waterford has been discussed to death
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They should all be considered "realistic" because the people who run the airport are actively seeking out those routes. Thats what they want and will more then likely be working towards achieving those in the long run. Whether the routes will be successful is another story.
Surprised Buster would put on a scummy watford shirt for a NY route, doesnt seem far fetched in the slightest to me. Also surprised the airport isnt seeking a link to Pakistan but hey they know more then me observing from the outside so who am I to argue.
Surprised Buster would put on a scummy watford shirt for a NY route, doesnt seem far fetched in the slightest to me. Also surprised the airport isnt seeking a link to Pakistan but hey they know more then me observing from the outside so who am I to argue.
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Athens was indeed once served by easyJet. At one point it went twice daily I think. It has to be a route with great potential for any future operator. I really do think it would work well for Monarch with say 4 or 5 flights a week initially.
Easyjet fly Gatwick-Athens
BA fly Heathrow-Athens
Aegean fly Heathrow-Athens and are reopening Stansted-Athens
Greece may now be politically stable again but their economy has taken a big knock and the average Greek resident is feeling rather poorer than in 2006.
Athens is not a place for a beach holiday
Is there *really* demand for a fourth carrier on London-Athens or would Monarch be better off looking at a route from Luton to another Greek island or increasing frequency on an existing Greek route ? Genuine question to which I don't have enough info to give a complete answer.
BA fly Heathrow-Athens
Aegean fly Heathrow-Athens and are reopening Stansted-Athens
Greece may now be politically stable again but their economy has taken a big knock and the average Greek resident is feeling rather poorer than in 2006.
Athens is not a place for a beach holiday
Is there *really* demand for a fourth carrier on London-Athens or would Monarch be better off looking at a route from Luton to another Greek island or increasing frequency on an existing Greek route ? Genuine question to which I don't have enough info to give a complete answer.