Sorry but I didn't realise that intercity trains wil continue to call at Parkway. Looks like they will - bit not at Luton or Bedford stations

Depends if you call Corby Intercity. There will be 3 East Midland Railway brands and Parkway is getting the EMR Electric brand. No mention of Luton Airport Express branding. The trains are second hand but updated and will look like commuter stock with a flat nose and tail.

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/ea.../54389.article

Class 360 stock and this is the previous owner
https://www.angeltrains.co.uk/Produc...nger-Trains/19

Construction update
 

The Gateway Bridge is gradually being seen again after a few weeks of being wrapped in plastic sheeting. Street lights and crash barriers have been removed for the big move at the end of the month.
https://i.imgur.com/zslXgBM.jpg

Meanwhile at Parkway the passenger route to Kimpton Road from the railway station has been moved. Also as seen, the framework for the glass and sliding doors can be seen by the Dart platforms.
https://i.imgur.com/wnaLAGA.jpg.

Work has started on digging out Taxiway Bravo for the cut and cover Dart tunnel.
https://i.imgur.com/MbnrMhz.jpg

The dual carriageway inside the CTA has now moved to over the tunnel with also a reroute of the bus station road. The existing tunnel edge can be seen to the right of the airport bus at the road junction. The contractors have now taken control of the final piece of the Dart route.
https://i.imgur.com/6XO5Hlg.jpg

Finally the former drop off zone is now being marked out with parking bays. For who and why is a mystery
https://i.imgur.com/X9kA111.jpg

Seems Wizz has discovered that rich Scandinavia is not in poor Eastern Europe. Saying that the old Copenhagen battle between EasyJet and Ryanair showed that £10 fares filled aircraft. Wonder how non-EU Russia is doing?

How can my comment be classed as an anti Eastern European agenda? Eastern Europeans have travelled to the UK to improve their standard of living as they generally live in poor counties otherwise they would not have come or have I got it all wrong???

Think you need to read this https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/...in-europe.html

Can't see them sticking around on BGO, how is St Petersburg doing? Flight times are terrible for pax, but great for airplane utilisation!

They are terrible but not that unusual - both BA and Aeroflot operate to Moscow at similar times from LHR

Well despite the report to the contrary from "a well placed TUI source" on here a few weeks back, I'm pleased to report that the TUI program for Winter 2020 & Summer 2021 is now on sale and features a program from LTN using TUI based aircraft!

It was alluded in the original posting that the base would close at the end of Summer 2020...no rumour! As I mentioned at the time, more importantly no front-line TUI staff were aware of this and the company are actually basing a decent number of new captains at LTN for this coming Summer (with obviously no mention being made to them of any impending base closure!)

The rumour was actually given to me as a fact by someone working for TUI in Wigmore House who would be in the know. I have no way to authenticate what I was told but this pre dates the Thomas Cook collapse.

I appreciate the info was no doubt passed on in good faith LTNman. Obviously there would be major repercussions for a good number of TUI staff if the LTN base was to close and reading about such potential news here whilst nothing had been said by the company was naturally slightly concerning!

Interesting good figures, I assume the GDN was full with minors on laps?

FlyBosnia
 

Looks like they are having issues...
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/11...l-turmoil.html

Opens up a whole raft of possible new destinations.

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/n...eoxlr-purchase

I have noticed that the Gateway Bridge being finished off opposite the Ibis has picked up a temporary attached red aircraft warning light at the top of its ski ramp. Still can’t get my head around how such a tall structure (see photo post 3043) will end up by the end of the approach lights and just to their side when those approach lights are not even a full set but a much shorter version due to the location of the A1081.

Anyone with a long memory will remember the Dan Air 727 that took out not only the ILS aerials but also the approach lights as it dropped into the valley below. What would have happened if a Gateway type structure was there at the time?

...and anyone without a long memory can read about it here:
https://aviation-safety.net/database...?id=19740621-0

The picture of the light gantry in the report is instructive - compare the flimsy construction to the new bridge structure.

VR-CBQ July 1991 did the same.

This is an old photo from a month ago as the blue supports have now gone. From close up it looks rather substantial to me with its cross member supports. The photo was taken before the red light appeared on its highest point.
https://i.imgur.com/uKByIk1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5My9usg.jpg

This is the outline plan to expand the airport to around 22.5 million passengers.

Plans include another extension to the front of the terminal by building an extension that will sit at an angle and butt against the bus bays.
Expansion of the boarding gate area in the north of the exiting terminal
Renewal of the original boarding gate area to the western part of the terminal which is the former duty free shop and associated wooden structure.
New pier and apron opposite the new multi story car park and drop off area.

Quart and pint pots come to mind as there is no expansion to the departure lounge. I make this terminal extension number 17 as the original terminal is still in use.
Also no sooner will the CTA be finished with the Dart in 2021 then construction within the CTA would well start all over again.

https://i.imgur.com/3WA7tM5.jpg

The six pack to the East of the runup bay is shown in grey because it already committed to with an approved tender?

Heh heh. Good old English planning. Bit by Bit, make it up as we go along, hoping no one will notice. Same process for the M25, they applied for all the sections piecemeal.

I like the non-English: "Section 1.4 describes the process of optioneering ..." great jargon.

LLAOL claim this is part of the original application for 18 million passengers but was never built. They have been taking a leaf out of the councils book of dishonesty as they try to hoodwink people with deception and lies.

Also it is not 32 million it is 38 million but the council cannot admit it otherwise it will cost them a lot of money. By applying for 32 million and then adding another 6 million later they don’t become liable for big bills away from the airport for major infrastructure projects needed to support a bigger airport.

LTN Terminal 2
 

Just had a read over the proposed plans for terminal 2 in the 'Future Luton Scheme development' report and it looks as though LTN is finally set to have jet bridges on both new piers when it opens. I'm sure that many people on here (as well as passengers and airlines) will agree that this is a long overdue and welcome change. A definite step in the right direction. Airlines such as LY, EZY and TUI frequently use jet bridges at other airports, so I'm sure that they'll welcome the news. Even W6 use them some of the airports they serve (e.g. LGW, OTP, FRA), so will be interesting to see if they opt in to use them at LTN, especially given that they are the second biggest carrier here now.

Also, I note that the report mentions nine new stands will be capable of servicing long haul aircraft, namely 787 and 359, but realistically cannot see these coming to the airport anytime soon, at least on a regularly scheduled basis. Although perhaps TUI might consider offering seasonal LTN-SFB/LTN-MLB flights at some point?

Certainly, interesting times ahead for LTN.

The report actually says air bridges if required by airlines. What that has meant in the past is that if airlines pay for them which they won’t.

The artists impression of the new terminal front is just that, an impression that won’t be delivered. History has taught us that what is proposed and what is actually built is very different so I cannot even be bothered to reproduce a fantasy photo here that will never be built.

Not without a starter strip.......the 321XLR might work for WZZ then!

Construction update
 

Railings have been attached to the curved Gateway bridge which is now just waiting for the painting to be finished before the big move. Careful examination shows the temporary power cable for the red aircraft warning light
https://i.imgur.com/nm3NH9m.jpg

Taxiway Bravo continues to be dug out. In the distance to the right of the departing Wizz sheeting for a shallow Dart trench is being piled in the mid term car park. In the top right hand corner can be seen the Gateway Bridge
https://i.imgur.com/EjXezqq.jpg

One part of the twin Dart tunnel
https://i.imgur.com/lrk70hw.jpg

Central station is getting its roof supports installed plus the beams to keep the walls apart.
https://i.imgur.com/6i6msFC.jpg

Maintenance area for Dart has had its temporary yellow jacks removed
https://i.imgur.com/GFMhRlz.jpg

Bus station seems to be growing wider with a new wall going in. A non-commissioned bus bay has finally been completed with what looks like another one being built.
https://i.imgur.com/YXpiueJ.jpg

During the regular weekend night closure, are flights being brought forward/backwards to avoid the closure period, not operated at all, or being moved elsewhere?

What night closures? There was/is one closure this month due to annual maintenance. Don't know of anything else

As jet bridges enforce a one person at a time method thst slow things down, why have them for LCC? As per recent boarding thread in PAX forum.

There was one (night closure) this last weekend. I had thought it was weekly during November - possibly mistakenly.

I only saw one closure listed for one night although another date could have been listed after the first one ended as I didn’t take much notice of the actual date. There was plenty of notice given including a date for the annual runway charity run.