18 JUNE 2018
YOUR WORDS
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- GATWICK MARCHES ON
- COMMENT: Jim Armitage - Business Editor, London Evening Standard
- Aviation Club at the House of Commons
- 30 Years of London City Airport
- AirPod to arrive
- Aran Islands air routes
- BA Aberdeen lounge
- British-Irish EXPO and easyJet
- CAA reports on disabled passengers
- Edinburgh to Beijing
- Europe’s airports report increases
- EWR feature lounge for United
- London City to Warsaw
- Montreal to Tokyo
- Orlando Airport biometric
- Qatar helps out BA
- Radisson Blu Stansted Airport
- RAF Tattoo Fairford
- Ryanair and the unions
- Southend adds Ryanair to easyJet
- Spitfire film and the RAF centenary
- Upper Class revamp for Virgin Atlantic
- ON TOUR: EBACE 2018
- AND FINALLY: World Cup comes to Qatar
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BA Aberdeen lounge
The second airport lounge to open under British Airways’ new design concept has entered service at Aberdeen Airport in the next stage of the airline’s £4.5bn investment plan.
Edinburgh to Beijing
The first ever direct flight between Scotland and China landed last week at Edinburgh Airport on a momentous day.
GATWICK MARCHES ON
The announcement last week of the UK Government ’s National Aviation Strategy and its focus on Heathrow gave Gatwick boss Stewart Wingate the opportunity at British-Irish Airports Expo to define the South London airport plans for the future.
COMMENT: Jim Armitage - Business Editor, London Evening Standard
THE FRENCH AIR TRAFFIC CRISIS
The following has been reproduced from The London Evening Standard and BTN agrees with every word. However, with the exception of Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, the leaders of our industry have been sedentary. In years gone by, John King and Colin Marshall would have been to Downing Street to demand action and support.
Despite Emmanuel Macron’s claims, France is still En Panne
Aviation Club at the House of Commons
The Aviation Club’s new chairman Karl Brünjes was very busy on Thursday 7 June at the Institute of Directors.
British-Irish EXPO and easyJet
Opening the British-Irish Airports EXPO at London’s Olympia Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg, suggested up to 15% of the expanded Heathrow slots should be ring-fenced for domestic services.
CAA reports on disabled passengers
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published a new report highlighting the progress made by UK airports to help passengers whose disabilities are hidden, such as autism, dementia and hearing loss and many other conditions that are not immediately obvious. This comes against a background of record numbers of people with all types of disability flying.
Europe’s airports report increases
ACI Europe, the airport trade association, today releases its traffic report for April 2018, during which average passenger traffic in geographical Europe grew by +5% compared with the same month last year.
EWR feature lounge for United
United Airlines has introduced an upmarket lounge for international travellers at its New York Newark (EWR) hub.
London City to Warsaw
LOT Polish Airlines is to add London City Airport (LCY) to its list of Warsaw Chopin (WAW) destinations from January. Four 106-seat Embraer 190s will be added to its roster bringing its e-jet fleet up to 34 aircraft at the end of this year.
Qatar helps out BA
British Airways has wet leased in three Qatar Airways A330-200 to support its routes to Delhi, Kuwait and Muscat during the busy summer period. It requires the aircraft to offset a capacity crunch brought about by engine problems concerning its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 powered Boeing 787s.
Ryanair and the unions
Ryanair has announced the signing of a second cabin crew union recognition agreement with Unite the Union, who will now be the representative body for Ryanair directly employed cabin crew in the UK. This agreement follows Ryanair’s first cabin crew recognition deal with the Italian ANPAC/ANPAV unions just a week ago.
Upper Class revamp for Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic has unveiled brand new interiors for a new four-strong fleet of A330-200 aircraft acquired from the receivers of Air Berlin. The aircraft will be retrofitted with a Premium cabin, along with a new look and feel for Upper Class and a refreshed Economy.
ON TOUR: EBACE 2018
Alison Chambers has been to Geneva to report on the European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (EBACE). Here is her report.
AND FINALLY: World Cup comes to Qatar
One might say it is four years too early but the FIFA World Cup has come to Hamad International Airport (DOH) in a big way.
30 Years of London City Airport
Your editor in chief spent yesterday (Sunday 17 June) at The Imperial War Museum (IWM), Lambeth, signing copies of London City Airport – 30 Years Serving the Capital. It was busy with around 4,000 visitors, a simply brilliant exposition and it is free.
AirPod to arrive
Said by its promoter to revolutionise airport experience for travellers AirPod, has launched a beta prototype, in preparation for the first commercial trial to be implemented in EU airports in autumn 2018.
Aran Islands air routes
The Irish Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, responsible for the Gaelic-speaking communities in the western part of the country, is to issue a tender for Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes to the Aran Islands after Aer Arann Islands (Galway) announced it will leave the routes in December 2018, the Connacht Tribune has reported.
Montreal to Tokyo
Air Canada has launched all-year-round services between Montreal and Narita Tokyo with Boeing 787 Dreamliner, daily during summer peak travel and three times a week during the winter.
Orlando Airport biometric
SITA has announced that it has been chosen by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) as the technology partner for biometric exit at Orlando International Airport.
Radisson Blu Stansted Airport
Sited a short walk from the Stansted Airport terminal building the popular Radisson Blu Hotel has just completed a £660k investment in its meetings and events facilities.
RAF Tattoo Fairford
On the long weekend before Farnborough (Friday 13 until Sunday 15 July) Royal International Air Tattoo will again take place at RAF Fairford, Gloucester.
Southend adds Ryanair to easyJet
With Ryanair confirming last week that it has signed a five-year deal to base three Boeing 737-800s at Southend Airport the Stobart Plc owned operation is likely to nearly double its passenger throughput in 2019.
Spitfire film and the RAF centenary
Released to coincide with celebrations of the Royal Air Force centenary ‘Spitfire’ is a stunning documentary nearly two hours long telling the story of the plane and the people that helped win the Battle of Britain.