In that case it will probably be done by squeezing block times as much as possible and rostering duties to within 5 minutes of discretion like the bad old days.

Wonder why easyjet won’t base another aircraft at LTN after promising 3 last year?

Tents
 

Eddie, you obviously are'nt aware they used a tent a few years ago then actually.....

Quote from Ryanair

"Our new routes and bases have developed well over the Summer. Both our Luton and
Liverpool bases are performing strongly and traffic at our Shannon base is running ahead of
expectations, although yields continue to be slightly lower than expected"

Despite the loss of Esbjerg & Dinard at the end of Oct back to STN, ryan still have four, bookable, early deps to DUB, BGY,CIA & VST, from four based units. Assuming this doesn't change, it would not be unreasonable to assume a couple of new routes to replace those lost.

Ironically both routes moving to STN have on many days, been sold out for the last three/four weeks

I read something in June,(I can't remember where) from an interview with MOL, when LTN was being discussed, he stated that two more based aircraft would be in LTN to kick off the summer schedules in Mar 06. Of course you could take this with a pinch of salt and only time will tell. Hopefully it will happen.

Jumpseater.

Re Tent: When and for what?

From my Bingo Hall here in the 'Pool I may be slightly out of touch but have no recollection of any passenger use of a tent or a marquee in at least the last decade...

... or define 'a few years'

Gumshoe Ginley XXX

new airlines at luton?
 

hey guys
any one heard of anything new starting up at LTN? i hear fly first's financing could be in trouble, but eos and maxjet look pretty solid.
are there any others lurking round there?

A tent was created airside about where the Ryanair hub is currently around 1995? Alan Bartram, a local indie travel agent used it used it when my parents flew on a Barty Party flight.

http://www223.pair.com/girlymag/072838.jpg

A Marquee or tent if you like was erected when major refurbishment work was taking place airside around 1996. The building work involved the adding of a floor between the existing ground floor and the high ceiling of the departure lounge. This new level was then used as the domestic departure lounge for easyjet. Before that date a sliding set of doors was used to divide the lounge. I think the tent also contained temporary catering but after all these years I could be wrong. As far as I am aware that was the last tent to be used at Luton for passengers.

When was the last time the tent was used for the extra capacity required in departures then? I'm sure it has been used since 1996.

Camping it up
 

Eddie 'slightly out of touch' Ginley

See above from other contributors whom are slightly 'more in touch' , and have better memory retention than you appear to have.

Me, I've been around Luton since the late 80's and LLA or LIA as it was in those 'halcyon days' when I started. Common consent appears to be mid 90's which I concur with, course we could all be mistaken...

jumpseater XXXx

The tent wasn’t used to provide extra capacity but alternate capacity as most of the lounge was closed around 1996 due to the new floor being added. I think it was something like a 12 week project that took 20 weeks. In those days the duty free shop was still located in the round building that now contains gates 5 –8? When built the duty free shop had a vaulted quality wooden ceiling which was covered up with a false ceiling when the shop moved and the area became seating. There definitely hasn’t been a tent used since around 1996.

Gates 1-4, which is now the Ryanair lounge is still basically a large portacabin complete with wooden floor and was built I would say around 1998.

The last time a tent was used to proved extra capacity was around 1972-3 in the days of the Courtline Tristars. This tent can still be seen in one of the episodes of the Professionals that was filmed at LTN which is still being repeated now.

Seeing we are now in nostalgia mode I can still remember the aircraft crossing that crossed the approach road close to the base of the old tower. One set of traffic lights is still in place by the flying club even though they haven’t been used for around 15 years.

Eilat
 

Luton Airport has announced that First Choice holidays will be serving Eilat, Israel from 20th December.

Doesn't say whether this is an additional flight, or just a new destination for this tour operator. Nor is the airline mentioned.

King Pong

Thanks!! I was parked out front of Thomsonfly's building on Thursday afternoon last week and looked at that one set of traffic lights standing doing nothing - now I know what they were for!

:ok:

I can remember aircraft taxiing across the road, normally when the grass runway was boggy !!, can remember dhc 6s of spacegrand using it and saw a citation use once as well. Happy days!!.

I see that the new arrivals waiting area is now open. It is around 3 times the size of the old one and looks very nice despite the shop that is yet to be built.

When standing in the new waiting area I looked into the main terminal and wondered why there was a power cut affecting only the main terminal. Walking into that area from arrivals I found that the lights were in fact on. It struck me then just how poor the lighting is in the terminal. Go and have a look and you will see what I mean!

For a picture of the road crossing in use go to http://www.jetphotos.net and do a search for Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander and Luton airport from the drop down lists for aircraft type and airports

I have seen a Jetstar under tow, wings just squeezed through the gates!

Nice to hear part of the development is of a good standard!

http://static.zsl.org/images/width15...04-web-305.jpg

This is the direct link to the photo http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=100659 Apart from the single traffic light the view has now completely changed

I noticed that the blue information direction signage inside the new arrivals waiting area shows a sign for catering pointing towards the old terminal. The sign has been covered up now but I recon that the old security screening area is going to become some sort of café for people waiting for arriving passengers.

Two BA aircraft just diverted in due to the Gate Gourmet/Heathrow industrial dispute.