Great news if this comes to fruition...

The routes and frequencies they want to operate, are quite a surprise. For example Dalaman 4x weekly and Enfida/Hammarmet 2x weekly. Especially as these are likely to be charter flights and airlines like Thomson would only operate these weekly, especially from a secondary base like Luton (when compared to the size of bases like LGW, BHX and MAN).

Also a surprise to see no routes to Spain, except for a token weekly service to Palma.

Even though the PDF says flights to be operated by Thomas Cook and has the MT prefix on their booking system, it appears the routes will be flown by an A320 and they only operate A321 type. So I suspect this will be a leased aircraft, I think this year Thomas Cook have been leasing an A320 from Avion Express of Lithuania, which is based out of Cardiff, so could be a similar arrangement next year.

The Scheduling looks like:
(According to the PDF)

Monday - Dalaman, Palma
Tuesday - Enfida, Antalya
Wednesday - Dalaman, Larnaca
Thursday - Corfu, Dalaman
Friday - Enfida, Antalya
Saturday - Dalaman, Izmir
Sunday - Bodrum

Reason for my caution is last year Thomas Cook announced they were meant to operate 4-5 routes from Luton, and as we got closer to the summer season these disappeared and only Corfu happened in the end. Also I cannot see the Antalya, Bodrum or Izmir flights on sale.

Agree about the destinations-

Dalaman, Larnaca would have been operated by Monarch as would Palma and they might be able to source capacity elsewhere for the latter.

Maybe the others are where they perceive they might be able to add capacity from a London area airport. As you say if these don't reach expectations, they may be able cancel the sub-chartered aircraft so needs to be treated with caution but welcome nonetheless.

Now it's laid out in an easier to read format what I said about Saturday in my last post looks to be true for Sunday.

If you try to book flights through Thomas Cook to either Bodrum or Antalya it shows EasyJet flight details, I wasn't able to find any schedule for the Izmir flight !

Izmir:

MT182 LTN 0630 ADB 1220
MT183 ADB 1335 LTN 1540

Saturday's.

But as you say yourself, they can only ever really operate two return trips per day because their average sector lengths are longer than that of say EZY or FR.

As such, there's no benefit in short turns for MT or TOM as on the whole it would never be sufficient enough to provide a third rotation. It's partially the same reason why low-cost long-haul has always been a challenge.

Good to see anyway MT are finally at LTN in some reasonable quantity. Just a shame it's only following such sad circumstances.

Interestingly many of the destinations are similar for LBA, except they have MAH and TFS. I am beginning if this is a slot sitter to protect their business until they can really assess the fall out of Monarch going, to destinations that are not themselves slot constrained.

Well I never! A new company, Shelfco, was set up, to hive off the prospective long-haul Monarch and its costly Boeing orders.

And

Records show Mr Swaffield became chief executive of another company, Shelfco 2017, that was set-up on September 25.

The other directors include Nils Christy, Monarch’s chief operating officer, and Christopher Bennett, its finance director.

It is registered at Monarch’s Luton Airport headquarters.

I was of the understanding the ShelfCo was the other way round, it was a mechanism to sell, rather than retention for LH.

Taxiway taking shape...
 

As I refuse to pay Wizz Air the extra to have a window seat on their flights, I've missed this the last few times as we've taxi'd out to runway 8...

The new taxiway is really taking shape, and looks like it might be ready for next summer!

Great work.

https://www.facebook.com/LDNLutonAir...6072388779878/

The completion date for the physical connection of the taxiway to 08 is the 16th December with a 2 week reserve period in January if finished late.

No idea how long is needed after that before it opens.

I don't use Facebook and I've never been a member of Facebook but with that link that you provided it shows people's comments saying what a disgraceful airport Luton is and how ashamed they are with the fact that the airport classes itself as a London Airport. So after all the redevelopment people are still commenting on how terrible it is but to be totally honest it doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

Travelled from here this morning (as SLF) but amazed at how unfriendly the entrance is ... the glass doors that face the bus stops/set down/car parks are for emergency exit only. As you approach them there's a white board fence with some adverts for the company doing the work, but it isn't helpful, and looks very amateur.

So you turn left 90° once you get to the metal hanger with the glass doors,to enter the building and less than 10 m (or so it seems) from the entrance, straight in front of you, suspended from the roof is a monitor of all the flights and their gates ... so everyone stops, and bunches up right back to the doors (and this was at a quiet time).

So, for those without baggage to check in, (which is relatively clearly marked) you have to find the departures security point ... on the far back wall almost hidden. There are snaking rows of cord to guide you to the scanners, but apart from the slightly wider lines used for prams, it seems to be random which line you should take.

Security was rapid and pleasant this morning ... so it was up the escalators to the same commercial disaster as Manchester or Stansted but with a matt floor rather than a glittery one. Thank goodness for some natural light at the furthest point in the departures lounge by Boots. But make sure you're fit because my gate was only shown at 10.05, my boarding pass said that the gate closed at 10H10 for a flight departure at 10H40 ... and Gate 3 is a 'sacré trot' from the departure lounge even for fit folk!

The more streamlining and user-friendly facilities for both passengers and professionals the better!

A look at Stansted reviews at https://www.facebook.com/pg/STNAirpo...=page_internal reveals they don't appear to be any better. The only difference is that at least moaning people get an airport spokesman to at least reply. At Luton they get nothing.

As for Southend people are moaning about freezing to death outside a locked terminal on this website. At least passengers at both LTN and STN can get inside.

https://www.sleepinginairports.net/c...rt-reviews.htm

Well I saw a large number waiting outside in the relative cool this morning around 09H45 after a Wizz and an EZY flight arrived at adjacent gates

That entrance is temporary. When I say temporary I mean 2 years temporary.
:eek:

I live in hope that one of the finished entrances will open for Christmas seeing that the shell of that part of the building was erected at the end of 2016 but with not a hint of a canopy being installed and the front of the terminal just a pile of rubble I think I am going to be disappointed. I am thinking work will be carrying into next summer on the terminal for all those parts of the project that can't be started yet.

I think the airport also scores really badly when it comes to signage. It doesn't take much to create but it is really poor at the moment.

Also heard from a senior figure that the £100 million upgrade that became £110 million is looking more like £150 million due to severe over runs of the project.

Would they not have been fixed price contracts or has more work just been committed to earlier, partly because of the rise in passenger numbers and the rail link coming on stream earlier?

I wonder if that overrun is due to all the work needed in supporting the Undercroft road section because that looked from the outside to have added at least 6-9 months work.
Is the second MSCP included in the new figure I wonder?

Wouldn't it be nice to just have the space that STN has!

Have heard all sorts of stories about larger biz jets wanting to use LTN and just being told it's full, sorry , off to STN with you.

Falcon666...Yes absolutely....STN has been accepting a fair bit of extra Biz traffic because of constraints @ LTN (I have viewed some unofficial figures) space is part of the problem for LTN but I understand there are also R/W usage & "noise" thresholds considerations in play too.

That £110 million or £150 million, if the guy was telling the truth, is the cost of the 3 phases of the development. Phase 3 hasn't even started yet which is Taxiway Foxtrot, the extension to Taxiway Alpha, to get it closer to the end of runway 26 and the conversion and expansion of the Signature stands by the former flying club.

If you think that Luton suffers from a lack of bizjet stands just wait until 2019 when those stands go back to the airport.

The new multistory is not part of the existing development so will be funded separately or as part of the DART link.

Saw all the biz jets and wondered who planned the spaces on the apron! More like aviation tetris!