May 2014 – London Air Travel

Heathrow Terminal 2 opens on 4 June 2014 with United

London Air Travel » Archives for May 2014

London Heathrow Terminal 2A Forecourt (Image Credit: London Heathrow)

Heathrow Terminal 2 “The Queen’s Terminal” opens to the public next week, on 4 June 2014.

The new terminal, the first to open since Terminal 5 in 2008, has been designed by Luis Vidal + Architects.

It will house all Star Alliance member airlines at London Heathrow who are currently split across Terminals 1, 3 and 4. These include United Airlines, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, SAS, Swiss and Air New Zealand.

The terminal will also house non-alliance members Germanwings (a subsidiary of Lufthansa) and Aer Lingus, as well as Virgin Atlantic’s domestic “Little Red” flights to Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

United Airlines is the first airline to move into the terminal, consolidating its operations in Terminals 1 (Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Washington) and 4 (New York Newark, Houston).

The first flight to arrive at the terminal will be United Airlines flight UA858 from Chicago at 05:55.

The first flight to depart from the terminal will be United Airlines flight UA123 to Washington at 07:30, followed by United Airlines flight UA929 to Chicago – two of seventeen flights due to leave that day.

United Airlines will also have two departure lounges for eligible passengers: A United Club and United Global First Lounge. The lounges will feature floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the airfield and will offer complimentary food & drink and Wi-Fi in addition to business facilities and shower suites.

We also understand that Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines will have their own lounges for eligible passengers.

One point of interest is that there will be a paid for access Plaza Premium Lounge for passengers who do not have lounge access by virtue of their ticket type or frequent flyer status. The lack of such a lounge in Terminal 5 is a regular comment we hear.

Like Terminal 5, public art features prominently in the terminal. The consultancy FutureCity has commissioned sculptor Richard Wilson MBA to produce a 70m long sculpture “Slipstream” which was officially unveiled on 23 April.

Of course, this being Heathrow, significant attention has been given to the retail offer in the terminal. The full list of retailers has been published. As well as the standard UK airport fare, two noteworthy tenants are John Lewis and the “Perfectionist’s Cafe” by Heston Blumenthal.

Lessons have been learned from the opening of Terminal 5 in the move of airlines will take place in phases over six months. Air Canada, ANA and Air China will follow United Airlines on 16 June 2014.

As a consequence of the move, Terminal 1 is expected to close in 2016. British Airways will consolidate its operations that are currently across Terminals 1, 3 and 5, into Terminals 3 and 5 in 2015.

More information on Terminal 2 is available on the Heathrow airport website.

Thailand Coup: Thai Airways & BA Heathrow flights scheduled to operate

As has been widely reported in the media, on 22 May, the Royal Thai Army imposed Martial Law in Thailand. The military authorities in Thailand have imposed a nationwide daily curfew between the hours of 10pm and 5am. Broadcasters such as the BBC and CNN have also been taken off air.

British Airways and Thai Airways fly daily and twice daily respectively from London Heathrow to Suvarnabhumi International airport Bangkok under the following flight numbers:

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BBC2 goes behind the scenes at BA in “A Very British Airline”

London Air Travel » Archives for May 2014

BA Boeing 747 approaching the coast (Image Credit: British Airways)

After a long hiatus, the “behind the scenes” documentary of large public and private sector organisations has been back in fashion of late.

Over the past couple of years the BBC and others have gone behind the scenes at the London Underground, Claridges, and First Great Western

Now, it is British Airways’ turn to open itself to the cameras.

Virgin Atlantic adds Atlanta & Delta adds Los Angeles in Heathrow shuffle

Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines have announced changes to their schedules between London Heathrow and Atlanta and Los Angeles as part of their transatlantic joint-venture.

London Air Travel » Archives for May 2014

Virgin Atlantic & Delta Air Lines Aircraft (Image Credit: Delta Air Lines)

We have to admit to being a little surprised by this news.

Virgin Atlantic and Delta, partners together in a relatively new transatlantic joint-venture, have announced that they will swap flights between London Heathrow and Los Angeles and Atlanta from 26 October 2014.

Delta will take over one of Virgin Atlantic’s twice daily London Heathrow – Los Angeles flights. Virgin Atlantic will take over one of Delta’s thrice daily London Heathrow – Atlanta flights.

Continue reading “Virgin Atlantic adds Atlanta & Delta adds Los Angeles in Heathrow shuffle”

BA suspends Heathrow – Agadir from 26 October 2014

London Air Travel » Archives for May 2014

British Airways Tailfin (Image Credit: Nick Morrish/British Airways)

British Airways has announced it is to suspend its twice weekly service from London Heathrow to Agadir from 26 October 2014.

No specific reason has been given for the cancellation. However, we assume that poor commercial performance is a factor.

This was a route inherited by BA from its takeover of bmi in 2012 and is one of many subsequent route cancellations.

These include Damascus (29 May 2012), Addis Ababa (10 June 2012), Dammam (16 September 2012), Bishkek, Khartoum (1 October 2012), Tehran (12 October 2012), Yerevan (13 October 2012), Amristar, Casablanca, Marrakech (28 October 2012) and Tbilisi (31 March 2013).

Affected passengers have the option of a full refund or flying to Marrakech from London Gatwick or Casablanca via Madrid. No direct alternative route is available.

Qantas Re-times London – Dubai – Melbourne

Qantas has retimed its London Heathrow – Dubai – Melbourne service in order to reduce downtime of its Airbus A380 fleet at London Heathrow.

London Air Travel » Archives for May 2014

Qantas Airbus A380 at London Heathrow Terminal 3 (Image Credit: Heathrow)

A familiar sight for anyone passing through Heathrow during the day is a pair of Qantas A380s parked at a remote stand near Terminal 3.

Whilst providing those on a mundane business trip to Frankfurt or Geneva the opportunity to dream about going somewhere else, it serves as an illustration of the hard economics for Qantas of competing against Middle Eastern and Asian airlines in the London to Australia market.

Currently, Qantas’ twice daily flights to Australia depart late in the evening and arrive in the morning at London Heathrow meaning hugely expensive assets are left on the ground all day doing nothing.

From 20 July 2014, as part of a broader restructuring of Qantas’ network in response to a deteriorating financial performance, Qantas flights to Melbourne will be retimed from a late evening departure to an early afternoon departure.

BA giving away free flights at London Victoria

London Air Travel » Archives for May 2014

British Airways is giving away free tickets to destinations from its London Gatwick base in the Caribbean every 15 minutes at London Victoria railway station every day this week until Saturday 10 May 2014.

To be in for a chance to win you have to test your skills on an arcade-style game, with the highest scoring participants in 15 minute intervals winning tickets to the featured destination of the day.

The BA stand is located towards platforms 15-19.

From what we’ve seen the stand is popular, so do be prepared to queue for a short while if travelling to Victoria specifically for this.

Today’s (Friday) destination is Barbados. Wednesday’s destination was Saint Lucia and Thursday’s destination was St Kitts.

Full details of BA’s network at London Gatwick are available here.