THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 39 The Review ➔ BA sets up home at Gatwick
BRITISH Airways has opened a new high-tech base at Gatwick Airport. The new £73million extension to Gatwick’s North Terminal is "designed to give customers more control of their journey, as well as providing an innovative travelling experience using the most advanced technology and a new approach to customer service." Built on time and on budget by airport operator Gatwick Airport Limited, the terminal extension will be home to all BA flights out of Gatwick and allows passengers to do more for themselves, from checking-in and choosing seats to printing their own bag tags. British Airways customer service
staff will be on hand to greet customers and offer any help to use the self-service kiosks and baggage podiums. Passengers who need additional support can use the dedicated care desks. The new building took a total of 800,000 man hours to construct and covers an area larger than Wembley football stadium. BA has slashed up to 20 per cent
IN THE AIR IN BRIEF
• TURKISH Airlines has introduced live TV, including BBC World, and Internet access on its flights for the first time. First aircraft to offer the facility is the Boeing 777-300ER to be quickly followed by 11 Boeing and 10 Airbus A330-200 planes.
• KOREAN Air will expand services from the UK to Seoul from April 29 next year with an extra three flights a week. The operation from London will then comprise the current daily service from Heathrow and an extra three services per week from Gatwick. In addition, Asiana Airlines has increased its schedule between London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon to a daily service.
off short haul fares from Gatwick to coincide with the move and is introducing a new £39 one-way fare to some of its destinations. Stewart Wingate, Gatwick Airport chief executive, says: “Our £1.2billion investment programme to transform the airport experience for passengers, reducing queues and delivering a smoother check-in experience with more self-service options has
IBERIA'S EXPRESS ADDITION
been one of our key priorities.“ He continues, “The new British Airways check-in area is a fantastic example of innovation and is evidence that they, like Gatwick, are putting the emphasis on delivering excellent customer service for the passenger.” Over 4.5 million passengers fly
with BA through Gatwick every year to 45 domestic, European and long haul destinations.
SAA'S LONDON INTRODUCTION
SOUTH African Airways has deployed its brand new A330- 200 aircraft on its London to Cape Town operation, replacing the older A340-200. Over 60 per cent of its UK services are now operated by the new aircraft. “It is a massive improvement
THE board of the International Airlines Group – formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia – has approved the launch of a subsidiary airline of the Spanish carrier. Called Iberia Express, the new airline will operate some of Iberia's short and medium haul network and will begin flying in summer 2012. It will offer both business and economy seats and operate from Iberia's Madrid Barajas Airport. In addition to direct traffic, it will also provide transfer feed onto Iberia's
longhaul network, says IAG. Iberia Express will start with a
fleet of four Airbus A320s before growing to 13 aircraft by the end of 2012, all of which will be taken from Iberia's existing fleet. “Iberia Express will have lower operating costs than Iberia's loss- making short and medium haul business,“ says the International Airlines Group. “The subsidiary will recruit new staff at market rates and have improved aircraft utilisation. Initially, maintenance and ground handling has been awarded to Iberia.“
that I know our customers will really appreciate,” says the airline's UK & Ireland country manager, Gary Kershaw. ”To have a consistent product on the UK routes is something we have been striving to achieve for some while. The A330-200 is not only more fuel efficient but it also offers greater service enhancements.” All aircraft feature a two-
class business and economy configuration, the former featuring fully flat-bed seats and a new IFE system.
• SAS is to launch a new direct route from Manchester to Bergen in Norway this January. The twice-weekly service will be replacing SAS’ London Gatwick to Bergen route which will cease operations in November. The twice-weekly flights will operate on Monday and Friday and prices start from £82, one-way including taxes.
• CHANNEL Islands-based carrier Blue Islands is now flying direct from Manchester Airport to Jersey with onward connections to Guernsey. Fares for the daily flights start from £49 including all taxes and charges.
• ETIHAD Airways is to provide onboard wireless internet on selected routes to and from Europe by the end of the year. Two aircraft will be fitted with operational onboard internet by December and a further three will be in the air by March next year.
• WIZZ AIR has launched a new service to Lodz, Poland, from London Luton Airport. The service operates three times a week with prices from £17.99 one-way including taxes.
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines launches services in November between its Amsterdam Schiphol hub and the Angolan capital of Luanda, with convenient connections to/from the UK. The Air France KLM Group will now serve 45 destinations across Africa this winter.
• NORWEGIAN has introduced three weekly departures from Manchester to Oslo Gardemoen airport. The airline already offers over 90 direct weekly flights from London Gatwick and Edinburgh to destinations in Norway, Denmarl and Sweden.
• SKYWORK Airlines has increased its schedule between London City Airport and Bern, Switzerland, to 11 flights a week, up from six. There are now two flights on weekdays, plus a Saturday morning service.
44 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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