The Air Berlin was one operated by TUI & it ended up in a TUI hangar so make your own mind up.

Wasn't that a 737? I think it went to MAEL anyhow for work.

Air Berlin
 

Yes was a 737. I never realised MAEL, carried out their maintenance.

ACL have published "start of season" data for W17:

https://www.acl-uk.org/wp-content/up...-of-Season.pdf

Headlines:

Monarch flights still included.
Blue Air +15% (over W16)
Backbone listed as 140 ATMs (for Powdair to Sion)
EasyJet +6%
DHL -20%
Ryanair -21%
Titan Airways listed with 30 ATMs - a weekly ski season Chambery charter.
Transavia France returning on Orly 2x pw from Feb.
Wizzair +17%

Overall ATMs +4.5%, passenger capacity +7.5%.
Adjusting for Monarch: ATMs +0.9%, pax +3.4%

How is the construction going on at London Luton?

Have they still not finished it yet?

Which project part? Perhaps LTNman might give a photo update?

Growth continues
 

3 to 4% growth, BlueAir increasing services. Seems my Chrystal ball is spot on!

I took in a camera yesterday but to be honest not much has changed in the last few weeks since the last update so I didn't bother taking any photos.

The gaps in the cladding of the new terminal frontage have been filled in apart from a small half metre gap at floor level.

The brick balcony of the old terminal has had framework erected that will eventually hide it. Below the balcony it is open with no framework.

When facing the terminal from the bus station the right hand entrance recess is in yellow while the left hand arrivals recess is in grey. Windows have been fitted to both the arrivals and departures entrances.

Pier B now has all its windows in place but the external doors have still to be fitted.

The bus station now has traffic lights. When a bus or coach wants to leave a bay the driver presses a button that puts the bus in a queue. The bay gets a green light when it is its turn to leave. It might be safer but it take longer to get in and out.

Behind the hoardings the terminal external walls have been removed to link it to the new build but it is only visible when a workman passes through a hording door.

Still no sign of a canopy being fitted.

At the back of the terminal the framework to expand the immigration hall was meant to have started last week but as of yesterday it had not began. The framework will be put up between 2am and 5am on weekdays when immigration is empty as the building is gaining a floor that is no immigration related.

Didn’t realise that easyJet’s Luton-Hamburg route ends 24th March 2018

Summer 2017 & 18 for comparison.

http://i65.tinypic.com/2m5xc08.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/xmr4es.jpg

We will see if this base does close as Air Berlin were No. 2 (EZY No.4) or will it all be left to Lufty & German Wings and they consolidate in Berlin.

They could always operate the route from LTN rather than Hamburg. The EDI route has always worked that way.

Two interesting points there: Transavia returning albeit only two weekly and DHL having to use Stansted and/or East Midlands because of the runway closures during November and December.w

The Hamburg route is operated by a LTN based a/c.
Am a regular user so sad to see it go!!

I have always wondered how many scheduled cargo flights Luton would handle of it had more than two cargo stands?

Luton handled more cargo flights when it had no cargo apron or cargo centre. Remember the TNT 146's, Air Bridge/Hunting Merchantmen/Electras in the late 80's/early 90's? Not to mention Aer Turas DC-8's on horse flights and a host of smaller aircraft (SD330's/360's, Bandeirantes, Beech 99's, Trislanders) operating small parcels and mail flights nightly. The cargo apron originally had 5 stands - so do executive jets which often sit around for days at a time make the airport more money than cargo aircraft?

As someone who keeps an eye on the airport in the evening when cooking dinner, the winter feels like the bleakest for sometime. Last night I think the last scheduled arrival was 23.10; particularly absent are the late night Canaries, Cyprus etc that Monarch used to have. A glance at the boards might suggest that Wizz are the biggest operator although I guess they haven't topped EasyJet yet. I notice Jersey was still operating earlier this week? Is this now year round? Ryanair are definitely less busy than for several years. Of course the night closures might be partly responsible.

Why is taxiway alpha partially closed at night?

Any idea why there is 3 months of construction works in the area of the Long term and Harrods ramp?

The next six weeks are usually the quietist time of the year until the ski flights and a few Santa charters start around the middle of December.

The work in the long term car park is located behind one of the Harrods Hangars but hasn't started yet. A sign says don't park here while another one says the work will end at the end of February.

Maybe the airport want to dig various test pits as the car park sits on the former council tip. When the airport carries test drillings on Wigmore Park every dog walker for miles spots what is going on. It was not helped by decontamination showers being installed the last time holes were dug on the park.