Out of interest how many A380 capable gates does Gatwick have? One or two?

One, Stand/Gate 558 on Pier 4.

Thank you.

I think and I could well be wrong ,gate 558 is the only one but I’m not totally sure ..the EK 11/12 in the morning is now a 777 till end of July so they won’t fight over it 😉..the QF is meant to depart at 09.55 .

Thanks Sean x

The answer to that is a definite no I'm told.

That's the only pier served A380 stand. However, 172, 234 and 235 are also A380 capable, albeit they're remote stands which means lots of buses back and forth for the passengers!

Has 110 been redeveloped I guess?

Not yet.

The extension to Pier 6 was put on hold during the covid 19 pandemic.

The area has been cleared, and preparation works had previously commenced in 2019, but this was also put on hold.

Preparation works started again earlier this year, with construction supposed to commence Q324 with a completion date set for 2026.

The extension will allow for contact stands fitted with airbridges for eight narrow body aircraft.

The associated taxiway alignments were undertaken after the A380 gate was moved from Gate 110 to Gate 558 in 2019.

There are upto date docking charts online, plus it's noticeable on Google Earth.

Correct it is the only pier served A380 stand at LGW. As the conversation was regarding A380 gate availability at LGW I omitted the remote stands that you have kindly mentioned. I was aware of stands 234 and 235 being A380 capable but I wasn't aware that stand 172 is as well.

I am hearing that the QANTAS charter was for the Plymouth Bretheren. They return on 30th April.

This would make the most sense. I have a friend at QF and this flight was discussed as happening soon.

Things don't appear to be going too well for Air Peace at LGW - allegations of 'operational sabotage' according to the following article:

https://www.naijanews.com/2024/04/12...-london-route/

This has been commented on above. To be honest the Air Peace CEO has an agenda and is always shouting off about something.

Thank you ..vectisman ..mystery solved x

Cathay Pacific
 

Is this regarding Cathay? Travel24 has previously mentioned in this thread that CX are planning to return to Gatwick from October this year, 5 weekly to start off with based on internal sources within the airport. Cathay Pacific did well at LGW following their return to the airport in 2016. I am absolutely sure that had it not been for Covid breaking out, Cathay would still be serving the route today, as it was one of the more successful of the newer long haul routes launched. LHR is now finally back up to 5 daily this summer, albeit with 3 77Ws and 2 A359s per day (versus the 5 daily 777-only operation pre-pandemic), although this is mostly due to the 777 retrofit programme, hence why seat capacity has reduced slightly with the 2 A350s. Hopefully they will return to LGW, especially with SQ arriving soon.

There's no plans at this time for CX to resume LGW operations I'm told, nor Dublin for what it's worth. 777 retrofit hasn't started as yet, it's more to do with crewing, there's still some 777 in storage yet to come out. LGW and DUB were 2 of the least profitable routes in Europe, having said that things change so who knows, but definitely can't see it happening this year, if at all!

Norse Atlantic has scrapped plans to fly from Gatwick to Bridgetown and Montego Bay during the Winter 2024/25 season

I too read that on aeroroutes.com yesterday Tuesday 16 April.

Norse had an opportunity in the Caribbean especially serving the likes of Barbados and Jamaica. But as usual the airline doesn't have a clue what it's doing.

I wonder what destinations they will choose as replacements?

In the last week Norse has just had another €20 million from investors.

It does make me wonder how long this airline will actually survive for.

In my opinion there's no real need for Norse Atlantic Airways, and it won't be a huge loss to the aviation industry if they eventually ceased operations. I'm sure those Boeing 787s plus the pilots and crew would be snapped up by other airlines considering the worldwide shortage.

ZAR (South African rand) has appeared as a payment currency on Norse's website.

I'd wager 100ZAR (i.e. about £5 :E ) that tomorrow's announcement is LGW-CPT, maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

And if they're really mad, they'll launch LGW-DUR at the same time to try and top and tail the Garden Route.