THE REVIEW ›› IN THE AIR A royal opening for Terminal 2 IN BRIEF
HER Majesty the Queen formally opened the new home of Star Alliance at London’s Heathrow Airport in June, unveiling a plaque naming Terminal 2, ‘The Queen’s Terminal,’ in recognition of her long association with the airport. Terminal 2 will house the 23 Star Alliance member airlines that serve the UK’s hub airport, as well as Aer Lingus, Germanwings and Virgin Atlantic Little Red. United was the first airline to
operate services from the new facility, with Air Canada, Air China and ANA also moving into T2 in June. The remaining airlines are moving in gradually between July and November, in a phased approach designed to avoid any potential teething problems. Heathrow Airport welcomed The Queen – who also opened the original Terminal 2 building almost 60 years ago – and The Duke of Edinburgh to an opening ceremony attended by over 1,000 people who were involved in the construction of the building or are part of the terminal’s current team. “Heathrow is delighted to
welcome Her Majesty to open her new airport terminal. Today is a
• VIRGIN Atlantic and Delta are making changes to some transatlantic routes from London Heathrow this winter as part of their joint venture programme. In October, Delta will begin operating one of two daily Heathrow to Los Angeles services currently operated by Virgin Atlantic, while Virgin will start operating one of Delta’s three daily flights between Heathrow and Atlanta. The two airlines will codeshare on each other’s services.
celebration of the great work by many people and organisations from across the country to create a new front door for the UK,” said John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow Development Director and Chief Executive Designate, at the opening ceremony. “The completion of the new Queen’s Terminal is the culmination of an £11billion private investment programme that delivers a world- class hub airport that the UK can be proud of,” he added. The new terminal was jointly developed by Heathrow Airport,
QATAR AIRWAYS DOES THE BUSINESS
Star Alliance and its member airlines, and some 12 million Star Alliance passengers are expected to travel through the terminal in the next year. Mark Schwab, Star Alliance CEO
said: “It is terrific to see this new terminal coming to life as our Heathrow home after so many years of careful planning and construction. We are honoured that Her Majesty the Queen has lent her name to this fantastic new facility which will deliver an excellent service to Star Alliance customers at this major hub.”
GATWICK MEANS BUSINESS
SPEAKING at a recent ACTE- organised event, Gatwick Airport CEO Stewart Wingate claimed the airport would become a “world-class inter- change” of road, rail and air by 2020, providing a “future- proofed solution for an aviation industry that is changing”. Gatwick will be connected to
QATAR Airways has launched the first ever all-business class service from London Heathrow. The new service, called Business One, operates daily between Heathrow T4 and the airline's new base at Doha's Hamad International Airport. It is operated by an Airbus A319 comprising 40 business class seats in a 2-2 configuration and becomes Qatar's sixth daily service on the route, and the last departure of the day.
The airline has also introduced
its first Airbus A380 aircraft on London-Doha services. It will receive three of 13 ‘superjumbos’ on order in quick succession this summer, each configured with three cabins – First, Business and Economy class – over two decks, plus an onboard lounge. In a busy couple of months for
the carrier, it has also launched a five-times-weekly service between Edinburgh and Doha, operated by B787 Dreamliner aircraft.
all major rail upgrades – HS2 and Crossrail – and there will be a train to central London every 2.5 minutes. Wingate appeared alongside
easyJet CEO Carolyn McCall in a dual pitch to corporate buyers. He plugged the £1billion, four-year refurbish- ment that has turned Gatwick into a business-friendly airport, adding that passengers clear security in under five minutes 95 per cent of the time.
• FLYBE has launched a three-times- weekly summer service between Birmingham Airport and Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital. It is the first ever scheduled service between the two cities.
• ETIHAD Airways will deploy its first A380 ‘superjumbos’ on services between London and Abu Dhabi later this year and has revealed new cabin designs that include an ultra-luxurious ‘Residence’ suite. The airline will launch its first A380 in December and a second on the London-Abu Dhabi route in the first quarter of next year. Each aircraft comprises 498 seats in four different cabins, including two new Residence by Etihad suites (with an estimated fare of $20,000 between London and Abu Dhabi), nine First Class 'Apartments', 70 new Business Class 'Studios' and 417 economy seats.
• AMERICAN Airlines and US Airways moved their operations together at London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle this week as the two carriers continue their merger. US Airways flights to and from London Heathrow now operate from Heathrow’s Terminal 3, Zone F, and the airline’s ticketing and check-in desks are now located alongside American Airlines.
• POLISH airline LOT is introducing two new fare options, Economy Plus and Economy Simple. Economy Plus is available on all LOT short and medium- haul flights and includes priority boarding and baggage, extra airmiles, dedicated check-in desks and enhanced inflight dining. LOT Economy Simple enables travellers to reduce their fares by as much as 30 per cent by checking in online, taking only hand luggage and opting for an inflight snack.
40 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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