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THE REVIEW IN THE AIR
ACTE UPDATE
IN BRIEF Bmi regional
More from Bristol
Bmi regional’s new services from Bristol Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle and Dusseldorf launched at the end of April. Paris flights operate six days a weeks with two flights a day Monday to Friday and one flight on Sundays. Dusseldorf services operate once daily from Sunday to Friday. The flights bring the number of Bristol routes served by the airline to eight, alongside Aberdeen, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Milan and, from July, Nantes.
VLM
Flying from Southampton Belgian airline VLM has introduced flights from
Southampton Airport to Antwerp and on to Hamburg. The service operates every weekday.
British Airways Back to Malaysia
British Airways returns to Malaysia in May with daily services from London Heathrow to the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Flights commence on May 27th and will be operated from Terminal 5 by a four-cabin Boeing 777-200ER. The airline has also announced one of its two daily services to Singapore will be operated by an Airbus A380 every day from this winter.
La Compagnie
Launching from Luton French all-business class airline La Compagnie has launched services from London Luton to
New York Newark. It will initially operate three flights per week on the route and progressively increase frequencies up to six flights per week from June. Boeing 757-200 aircraft are used on the service, each with 74 lie-flat seats in a single aisle, 2-2 configuration. The airline began with flights from Paris CDG to New York last year.
Greeley Koch Executive Director, Association of Corporate Travel Executives
RYANAIR CHIEF Michael O’Leary suggested relations with other airlines could be a possibility in the years ahead as the European aviation sector consolidates.
“In fi ve years we might have relationships with the big carriers because they can’t afford to sustain their losses,” he told delegates at the ITM Conference, referring in particular to legacy airlines’ short-haul operations. He predicted a scenario in which Europe will have just
fi ve ‘big’ airlines left – the IAG group (British Airways and Iberia), Lufthansa, Air France/KLM, easyJet and Ryanair – and that the growing Gulf carriers will take 20 to 30 per cent stakes in their European counterparts. In his fi rst appearance at the event, O’Leary continued his bid to win over the corporate market and also de- tailed the airline’s ambitious growth plans. The airline will deliver a ‘technological revolution' in the
next 18 months and rapidly expand its network as it aims to grow from 100million passengers annually to 150mil- lion by 2024. He estimated that 60 per cent of growth will come from incumbent airlines cutting back and 40 per cent will derive from new routes and destinations. “We’ll be in every airport in Europe apart from Heathrow,
Frankfurt and Charles de Gaulle. Incumbent carriers aren’t growing and airports want our business,” said O'Leary.
Two new lounges for Heathrow Airport
Heathrow’s Terminal 5 will get its fi rst independent lounge this summer. 'Aspire, the Lounge and Spa at LHR T5' will open to all customers travelling through T5 this summer, regardless of their class of travel. Access is by entrance fee or lounge pass membership. In addition, Singapore Airlines has opened a new SilverKris Lounge at the airport's new Terminal 2.
studies and surveys indicating how airport expansion is the next best thing to a money pipeline. The opposition weighs over- optimistic accounting against cost overruns and inevitable delays, while environmental proponents see no advantages to kilometres of concrete, noise increase and a surge in local traffi c. Airport expansion rivals the
F
construction of the pyramids. It is a massive undertaking, spanning the jurisdiction of a dozen government agencies, generally costing more than anyone imagined, taking longer than anyone would like, and hopefully meeting immediate demands, plus increased usage 25 years on. While I am not suggesting a rush to judgement, the discussion of airport expansion in the London area is now in its ninth year. Unlike other huge undertakings
UK fl ight cancellations were up 20% in Q1
following a harsh winter across Europe and various strikes
that forever change the land- scape, major airports are cities unto themselves. They provide essential services to millions of people and are the point of entry and departure for billions of pounds of freight annually. Yet the viability of these 'cities' depends on their capability to move people and goods within hours. What is the point of the most modern terminals, the best shopping and good access, when capacity is determined by the number of take-offs and landings? Airport expansion is inevitable.
Political delays will do nothing but add to the eventual cost of acquisition and construction.
ew issues polarise voters like airport expansion. Those in favour quote
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 57
MIKEY FLETCH
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