LUTON -8
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Sorry call me stupid, but why are aircraft heading to the engine bay to hold once they filled up with passengers and left the stand?
Surely the aircraft is then heading to the runway for the departure?
With people having to be at the boarding gate only 30 minutes before departure and airlines like easyJet and Wizz having a 30-40 minute turnaround... It is not like they are getting the passengers on the aircraft extra early, or the aircraft is hogging a stand for 2-3 hours like you might find at Heathrow when an aircraft is being turned around for a long haul flight and has 400-600 passengers to board.
Surely the aircraft is then heading to the runway for the departure?
With people having to be at the boarding gate only 30 minutes before departure and airlines like easyJet and Wizz having a 30-40 minute turnaround... It is not like they are getting the passengers on the aircraft extra early, or the aircraft is hogging a stand for 2-3 hours like you might find at Heathrow when an aircraft is being turned around for a long haul flight and has 400-600 passengers to board.
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Someone asked about stands being marked up to accommodate A321s a while back and why.
EZY have now changed their aircraft order. They will take delivery of A320 neos that are nearly ready, but the other 30 on order have now been changed to 321 neos, thus increasing seating capacity by nearly a third. 235 seats instead of the current 180ish.
EZY have now changed their aircraft order. They will take delivery of A320 neos that are nearly ready, but the other 30 on order have now been changed to 321 neos, thus increasing seating capacity by nearly a third. 235 seats instead of the current 180ish.
With slots becoming scarcer and Gatwick being by far easyJet's most profitable base, this is where they will want the extra capacity on the most popular routes without having to add additonal frequencies...
I can imagine more and more of easyJet's A319's at LTN being upgraded to A320's, which adds 30 additional seats over the smaller type, before any A321's are considered.
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Join Date: Jul 2002
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According to the annual monitoring report that was published last year next month should see the opening of the terminal extension followed by the baggage reclaim area in December. Work on the baggage reclaim area and extension to the security area can't start until the terminal extension is fully open. What was an 18 month project to build and fully open the terminal extension now appears to be already a year behind schedule. There is clearly a major issue with the new build, as no new steelwork has been erected since last December for the terminal extension.
There is a touch of Déjà Vu as this project reminds me of the 18 month project to build New Airport Way to the Ibis Hotel roundabout and the dualing of the A505 from junction 10A of the M1. That ended up taking 3 years to complete as it was another project built by just 2 men and their dog.
The other map not shown here shows the completion date for the short term car park as October 2016 (now abandoned)
The multistory car park as July 2016 (finished 5 months late)
Pedestrian walkway July 2016 (finished 4 month late)
Dual Carriageway September 2016 (finished 7 months late)
With the new rail link due to start later this year I have to wonder whether it will open on time or will be years late.
By comparison the Crossrail project is on schedule and on budget.
There is a touch of Déjà Vu as this project reminds me of the 18 month project to build New Airport Way to the Ibis Hotel roundabout and the dualing of the A505 from junction 10A of the M1. That ended up taking 3 years to complete as it was another project built by just 2 men and their dog.
The other map not shown here shows the completion date for the short term car park as October 2016 (now abandoned)
The multistory car park as July 2016 (finished 5 months late)
Pedestrian walkway July 2016 (finished 4 month late)
Dual Carriageway September 2016 (finished 7 months late)
With the new rail link due to start later this year I have to wonder whether it will open on time or will be years late.
By comparison the Crossrail project is on schedule and on budget.
Last edited by LTNman; 26th May 2017 at 06:21.
Sorry call me stupid, but why are aircraft heading to the engine bay to hold once they filled up with passengers and left the stand?
If they have a slot delay they remote hold because it shows to the pax that they were ready and it's not their fault that they have been delayed. I believe it also affects their stats because pushed back on time.
Having said that, occasionally they are asked to remote hold by the airport to free up stands. But when I was there it was usually the former why they went to the run up bay.
If they have a slot delay they remote hold because it shows to the pax that they were ready and it's not their fault that they have been delayed. I believe it also affects their stats because pushed back on time.
Having said that, occasionally they are asked to remote hold by the airport to free up stands. But when I was there it was usually the former why they went to the run up bay.
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Correct,
It allows an on time departure to be recorded, even if you spend an hour in the holding bay......and frees the stand for inbound aircraft.
Welcome to the 'mad' World of low cost aviation in the Summer months.
It allows an on time departure to be recorded, even if you spend an hour in the holding bay......and frees the stand for inbound aircraft.
Welcome to the 'mad' World of low cost aviation in the Summer months.
Join Date: May 2005
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Don't think it is that mad really - At least a revised slot shouldn't be lost and it improves overall punctuality. Only problem is if as a passenger you would prefer not to get on the plane until it is actually ready to go.
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It's all very strange but every time there is a bank holiday weekend all the lifts to the short term car park breakdown. There are no signs until passengers have crossed both bridges and reached the lifts. This photo shows a frail old lady using a walking stick trying to climb down 4 flights of stairs.
The last piece of the drop off zone didn't get finished today not that it will make any difference to the central area. I took these photos this evening before starting my shift. Not only does traffic still queue to enter the central area it now has to queue to leave after the staff were removed from the exit barriers this week.
Traffic in both lanes is stationary as cars try to enter the drop off zone while a coach heads from the exit
With all coaches and the shuttle bus having to queue to get past the drop off zone when leaving the bus station they now have to also queue to get past the exit barrier. This photo actually shows 10 coach and buses in the queue including the shuttle bus. What was a 7 minute drive to the station can now turn into a 20 minute journey.
It is hard to believe that so much effort and money has been completely wasted and has achieved nothing with no improvement to the traffic conditions. Remember this is the road that was built to handle 18 million passengers. The word shambles would be a good word to describe what is going on at Luton.
The last piece of the drop off zone didn't get finished today not that it will make any difference to the central area. I took these photos this evening before starting my shift. Not only does traffic still queue to enter the central area it now has to queue to leave after the staff were removed from the exit barriers this week.
Traffic in both lanes is stationary as cars try to enter the drop off zone while a coach heads from the exit
With all coaches and the shuttle bus having to queue to get past the drop off zone when leaving the bus station they now have to also queue to get past the exit barrier. This photo actually shows 10 coach and buses in the queue including the shuttle bus. What was a 7 minute drive to the station can now turn into a 20 minute journey.
It is hard to believe that so much effort and money has been completely wasted and has achieved nothing with no improvement to the traffic conditions. Remember this is the road that was built to handle 18 million passengers. The word shambles would be a good word to describe what is going on at Luton.
Last edited by Spanish eyes; 26th May 2017 at 19:47.
I was stuck in that queue to leave the drop off area. Not sure if it was a failure of the exit barriers but by the time we got moving staff had opened all exit barriers and were waving cars/coaches straight through. Then again that might have just been the attempt to clear the traffic backlog
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It has been blindingly obvious since the plans were first published that the drop off area was not going to be able to handle the traffic.
Yesterday I did a quick 3 minute traffic exit count to see how the drop off zone was coping while traffic was queuing to get in.
In the first minute 9 cars left, minute 2 was down to just 5 cars and minute 3 was 7 cars. With only one car able to leave on average every 8.5 seconds due to its design it is easy to see the airport has a problem.
The weird thing is that the zone can handle many more cars per minute when the traffic is lighter but less traffic means less passengers wanting to cross the road.
Yesterday I did a quick 3 minute traffic exit count to see how the drop off zone was coping while traffic was queuing to get in.
In the first minute 9 cars left, minute 2 was down to just 5 cars and minute 3 was 7 cars. With only one car able to leave on average every 8.5 seconds due to its design it is easy to see the airport has a problem.
The weird thing is that the zone can handle many more cars per minute when the traffic is lighter but less traffic means less passengers wanting to cross the road.
Join Date: Jul 2016
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The only hope is that the zone is going to have to be moved when work starts on the station. I am assuming this would happen this winter but there hasn't been any hints yet from the airport how passengers will cross the two lane approach road. I would assume any structure would need planning permission. One thing is for certain and that is the existing footbridge and it's two out of order lifts to the short term does not have the capacity required.
If the airport can not sort out once and for all congestion within the central area then the airports capacity will never reach 18 million passengers. It would also not surprise me if easyJet did not start to look at its commitment to expand services out of Luton as at the moment all of the senior management at easyJet are now getting caught up in traffic congestion as they also have to follow the one way system to leave the airport.
If the airport can not sort out once and for all congestion within the central area then the airports capacity will never reach 18 million passengers. It would also not surprise me if easyJet did not start to look at its commitment to expand services out of Luton as at the moment all of the senior management at easyJet are now getting caught up in traffic congestion as they also have to follow the one way system to leave the airport.
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For me it is the end of shift soon but before I head for the land of nod it is worth mentioning that yesterday I timed how long it took the airport staff coach to get from the Holiday Inn roundabout to the bus station. The journey took exactly 10 minutes. Anyone heading for the drop off zone could add an extra 5 minutes to that time. I have no idea how long it would take for those joining the queue from the bottom of the hill but I would think it would be at least 30 minutes.
Night All as I am off to bed.
Night All as I am off to bed.
Last edited by Spanish eyes; 27th May 2017 at 05:02.
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I noticed barriers blocking the entrance to the car park of Signature's 'temporary' compound in the North West corner when I drove past this morning. Does anyone know if this compound finally being removed?
I also witnessed the chaos caused by the traffic situation on Friday evening at Parkway Station at around 6.15pm. There must have been several hundred people queueing for a shuttle bus... many abandoning efforts and paying for a taxi instead. I post below a picture that I posted previously as a suggestion for a two lane drop-off zone. Something similar to this would have been so easy to do as they complete the final section.
I also witnessed the chaos caused by the traffic situation on Friday evening at Parkway Station at around 6.15pm. There must have been several hundred people queueing for a shuttle bus... many abandoning efforts and paying for a taxi instead. I post below a picture that I posted previously as a suggestion for a two lane drop-off zone. Something similar to this would have been so easy to do as they complete the final section.
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There hasn't been any hints yet from the airport how passengers will cross the two lane approach road. I would assume any structure would need planning permission. One thing is for certain and that is the existing footbridge and it's two out of order lifts to the short term does not have the capacity required.
Maybe the clue is in the corner of one of the artists impressions of the new station. It looks to me like a couple of escalators have been attached to the bridge core although the bridge does not seem wide enough.
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An up and down escalator 
Although being open to the elements, I'd expect it to be a stairwell, 2 broken down lifts and 2 broken down escalators.
Let's face it Luton doesn't do escalators very well. The escalator in the arrivals area of the existing pier must have been operational for 1 month in the last 10 years.
Although being open to the elements, I'd expect it to be a stairwell, 2 broken down lifts and 2 broken down escalators.
Let's face it Luton doesn't do escalators very well. The escalator in the arrivals area of the existing pier must have been operational for 1 month in the last 10 years.
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An up and down escalator
Although being open to the elements, I'd expect it to be a stairwell, 2 broken down lifts and 2 broken down escalators.
Let's face it Luton doesn't do escalators very well. The escalator in the arrivals area of the existing pier must have been operational for 1 month in the last 10 years.
Although being open to the elements, I'd expect it to be a stairwell, 2 broken down lifts and 2 broken down escalators.
Let's face it Luton doesn't do escalators very well. The escalator in the arrivals area of the existing pier must have been operational for 1 month in the last 10 years.
Submitted plans show the stairwells being removed for this core and the narrowing of the building where the stairwell is now. I can't think of any reason why the airport would want to do this on a brand new building apart from widening the pavement at this point. The plans show the above to be stairs but they look like escalators in the artists impression.
The lifts that have not even been operational for 6 months are constantly breaking down or making very strange noises. The issue is when 2 lifts in the same core breakdown as 2 cores have only 2 lifts while the third core has 3 lifts. When a lift breaks down it can be out of action for weeks at a time. Makes me wonder what it will be like when the lifts are a few years old are spare parts are harder to come by.
What I find very strange is that Aena are the worlds largest airport operator so you would think that they would know a thing or two about passenger and traffic flows yet when it comes to Luton they can't get it right. Can't help but think that Luton management will try and keep their cock-ups from the eyes of HQ.