News Archive

Glasgow airport skyhub opens next month.

Glasgow airport’s new terminal extension is set to open next month and promises to bring a new level of customer service to the airport.

The £31 million skyhub project is the largest single investment at Glasgow airport since the 1990s and is part of a 10 year investment plan costing £200 million at the airport. BAA Glasgow will take over the new terminal extension on September 19th from contractors Balfour Beatty and will then start fitting out the new building.

The skyhub will open on a phased basis, with the first section to open being the ground floor domestic arrivals hall on October 21st. The ground floor level will also include new shops, bars and restaurants.

Then on October 28th a new security search area will open on the first floor, replacing the three existing security areas. All departing passengers will be routed through this single search area from this date.

Heathrow Terminal 5 becomes WiFi hotspot.

Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport is now a WiFi hotspot thanks to a partnership between airport operator BAA and T-Mobile.

T5 becomes T-Mobile’s biggest WiFi hotspot in the UK, covering the entire terminal, an area the size of approximately 50 football pitches. With over 1,000 hotspots now in the UK and 27,000 worldwide, T-Mobile claims to be the largest provider of public WiFi in the world.

The hotspot service at Terminal 5 is open to all airport visitors, although users who are not customers of T-Mobile or other participating providers will have to pay £5 for an hour’s access or £10 for 24 hours. T-Mobile customers on voice plans will be able to set up a hotspot account and opt to pay their monthly bill at a charge of 75p for 10 minutes access.

Low cost airlines growing fast.

Despite the credit crunch, high oil prices and the gloomy economy, low cost airlines continue to attract more passengers.

Europe’s largest low fares airline, Ryanair, and rival easyJet have announced their latest passenger figures for August which show massive increases over August 2007.

The number of passengers flying with Ryanair in August grew by a staggering 19% to 5.78 million. And easyJet’s statistics are even more impressive, as passenger numbers year on year rose by 23.7% to 4.59 million.

It’s easy to put the increase in passengers using these budget airlines down to the increased number of routes and flights they are now offering. But the load factors, or occupancy levels, reveal that there is simply more demand for low cost flights.

Kingfisher Airlines launches Bangalore flights.

Indian airline Kingfisher, owned by billionaire Dr Vijay Mallya, has launched its first international flights between Heathrow and Bangalore.

“We will set new standards in international travel with the unique Kingfisher experience that has earned us a 5-star rating from Skytrax. Our customers are our guests, not passengers, and this is reflected in the unique levels of comfort and entertainment, including live television, and fine dining options on board together with the warmest Indian hospitality offered by a hand-picked and extensively trained crew,” comments Mallya.

Kingfisher claims to be the first airline to operate between the UK and India with live TV channels such as BBC World, CNN and EuroSport. The airline is offering other innovative products such as mood lighting, web chat and email, and for first class passengers in-seat massagers, jacket pressing and spectacles cleaning. Airline meals will also be different, with cuisine from famous London restaurant Chutney Mary’s.

Gatwick bidders may include Virgin.

Gatwick airport is attracting a number of interested buyers, including Virgin Atlantic and other airlines, now that the Competition Commission has recommended BAA’s airports monopoly is broken up.

Virgin Atlantic has confirmed its interest in Gatwick. “If the Competition Commission recommends the sale of Gatwick airport, then Virgin Atlantic would be interested in possibly bidding to run it, as part of a consortium,” the airline said in a statement.

Virgin has indicated it would like to join a consortium with other airlines to bid for Gatwick. There is speculation about who these other airlines may be, but the low cost airlines easyJet, Ryananair and Monarch are all thought to be in the frame.