Business (Aviation) is Booming at Luton

[CAP670]

Work has just begun on a new apron and hangar complex at Luton for Harrods Business Aviation. The apron which is designed to accommodate aircraft up to Boeing 757/Boeing 767 size, will be ready for use by November this year, and the new hangar which doubles Harrods' hangar capacity at Luton should be complete by February 2005. At the same time, major refurbishment of the apron area designated as Stand 16, which is mainly used by Signature Flight Support is now underway. This parking area will be redesigned to accommodate aircraft up to Airbus A300/A310 size in a 'nose in - push-back' configuration.

This work should be complete by mid-October 2004.

Both Harrods and Signature are rumoured to be contributing to the cost of their respective facilities at Luton.

The FAA has recently approved Luton as a Cat 3A airfield for US-registered corporate aircraft that have the necessary equipment and FAR certification.

Finally, the Gulfstream facility at Luton is apparently, the Company's European maintenance HQ.

All good news for TBI as it helps to 'spread' the business risk.

Those in the know reckon that by the Spring of 2005, if all goes according to plan, Luton could be handling between 380 and 400 IFR runway movements per day (current movement figure 300 to 320).

:ok:

[LGS6753]

Will the increased size of the Harrods apron release any of the 'South Stands' for commercial aviation use?

With 16 EZY, 4 FR, 1 FCA, 2 TCX, 2 BY, and 4 MON based, plus sundry others including 3 Wizz at 0730, it's going to be a bit congested between 0600-0800.

[CAP670]

No - but x 2 new B737-800/A321 stands are being created between the Main Apron and the North Apron, x 2 narrow-body stands will become available on the East Apron as the FLS/easyJet temporary hangar is being moved to the western side of the Cargo Apron, and Stand 9L is being re-positioned to accommodate B737 size aircraft.

This effectively creates five additional stands.

However, a problem may still arise if early morning (7am to 8.30am) departures whose stand has been allocated to early morning arrivals, are delayed by ATC slots or because the aircraft is unserviceable.

TBI has therefore, introduced some limited 'remote holding' such as is common practice at Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Stansted, etc., for departing aircraft that are delayed by ATC slots whose stands are required for the early morning arrivals.

During the morning 'rush hours', the airfield should be just about manageable (but not quite sure how the adjacent London airspace system is going to cope) - as for the 'local' road system in an around the Airport, well who knows....?? Maybe TBI has a cunning plan!

:confused:

[Courtman]

Where is the new Harrods apron and hangar going? Is it on the run-up bay which is currently closed for maintenance? Also, will the new stands between the North and Main Aprons be along the Echo taxiway / ski slope?

If Harrods are getting a new hangar, will Easy move into the current hangar rather than relocating the "temporary" (how many years has it been up already?) hangar - I believe that was the plan at one point at the airport.

[LTNman]

Those in the know reckon that by the Spring of 2005, if all goes according to plan, Luton could be handling between 380 and 400 IFR runway movements per day (current movement figure 300 to 320).

343 movements is the current record for Luton.

With 16 EZY, 4 FR, 1 FCA, 2 TCX, 2 BY, and 4 MON based, plus sundry others including 3 Wizz at 0730, it's going to be a bit congested between 0600-0800.

Luton’s problem time is between 05.00 and say 6:00. By 5:45 the first flight of the day has already left and by 6 there is a stream of departures so by 6:30 there are plenty of stands for the inbounds.

2 new B737-800/A321 stands are being created between the Main Apron and the North Apron, x 2 narrow-body stands will become available on the East Apron as the FLS/easyJet temporary hangar is being moved to the western side of the Cargo Apron, and Stand 9L is being re-positioned to accommodate B737 size aircraft.

Something doesn’t seem right here. The land between the north apron and the main apron is presently the flexibus coach park. Not only is there not enough depth for new stands the stands would be on a slope. I was told this slope would be outside limits for refuelling. Again stand 9L does not have enough depth for anything bigger than a 146 due to centre line clearance.


Where is the new Harrods apron and hangar going?

Next door to their existing hangar/ opposite the north apron.

[CAP670]

"Something doesn’t seem right here. The land between the north apron and the main apron is presently the flexibus coach park. Not only is there not enough depth for new stands the stands would be on a slope. I was told this slope would be outside limits for refuelling. Again stand 9L does not have enough depth for anything bigger than a 146 due to centre line clearance. "

According to the Airport Company, this area has been subjected to a 'swept path analysis' and is capable of being converted into two B737-size stands. No doubt appropriate civil engineering work will be undertaken.

The projected movements at Luton from January/February 2005 show a peak period between 7am and 8am (local time) and there are likely to be a number of arrivals between 7.15am and 7.45am. Stand availability will be OK unless outbound flights are delayed in which case 'remote holding' may be necessary.

The daily movement record is indeed 343 but the average is now in the region of +/- 320/day.


:ok:

[LTNman]

According to the Airport Company, this area has been subjected to a 'swept path analysis' and is capable of being converted into two B737-size stands. No doubt appropriate civil engineering work will be undertaken.

Looking at this photo http://doug3658.fotopic.net/p6342043.html Taxiway Echo can be clearly seen with the bus park to the left. To my uneducated eye it seems like it would be a tight squeeze seeing that stand 9L can't take a 737 and bearing in mind the access road between the main apron and the north apron would have to stay plus a new customs hall which is going to be located to the right of the new terminal. I guess we will have to wait and see what happends.

Just look at all those exec jets. There were another 10 parked on the south stands plus a couple outside the Harrods hangar, which were all out of shot.

[Courtman]

What is happening to stand 16 at the moment? Is it just being resurfaced or prepared for something bigger?

I wonder if there will be another "six-pack" constructed soon between the south stands and the current six-pack. While this might provide some more stands, I can't help but wonder where the car park will go...!

Does anyone know where/when the EasyJet hangar will move/be destroyed?