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Gatwick airport news - May, 2008 |
Virgin Atlantic were celebrating 20 years of flying between Gatwick and Orlando airports on Wednesday (28th May).
A daily flight was first launched as its 3rd destination in May of 1988, however the route was so popular Virgin added a second daily service 10 years later. Over these past 20 years, nearly 10 million passengers have travelled to the ‘sunshine state’.
As part of the celebration, Virgin teamed up with Walt Disney World and offered children on the flights that day free Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears, and gave a ‘Disney Dream’ to one very lucky family. This was also a mark of distinction for the Year of a Million Dreams 2 celebrations at the Disney resorts. The family became ‘grand marshal's’ in the parade, Disney Dreams Come True, with full VIP treatment at the park.
“20 years on, this sunny and fun-filled destination has never lost its appeal for British holidaymakers. Year after year families continue to visit the home of world-renowned Walt Disney World with almost half of all Brits choosing to fly with Virgin Atlantic.” Commented Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic. |
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A new flight from Gatwick Airport to Fort Lauderdale which was launched by Zoom Airlines this month (May), has already proved popular with the first flight pretty much full with 241 passengers on board.
The Zoom flight has a 2 weekly service, one on a Thursday and the other on a Sunday. Fort Lauderdale is quite a popular airport with other budget airlines so it is expected to be quite a busy service.
Managing Director of Zoom UK, Jonathan Hinkles, commented, “As a holiday destination, the resort of Fort Lauderdale is renowned for its constant sunshine boasting over 23 miles of beautiful beaches and an abundance of activities for all the family, that it's easy to see its appeal.”
Zoom will also launch a new Gatwick to San Diego service starting in June. |
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easyJet saw a new destination added to their list this month (May), with a daily service from Gatwick Airport to Nantes in France.
Nantes is the 6th largest city in France, located in the Loire region of western France, just 50km from the Atlantic coast. With its picturesque cobbled streets, lush green parklands and surrounding countryside, easyJet expect to see 60,000 passengers travel on the new service in the first year.
David Osborne, the UK General Manager for easyJet, said, “easyJet has seen a huge increase in flights to great short-break destinations this year, reinforcing easyJet’s position as the favourite airline for independent travellers, providing convenient low-cost flights from your local airport.” |
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If you’re planning to travel out of Gatwick Airport, or any other airport for that matter, this Summer, then you might want to be reminded of the items you can’t take with you on the flight.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) wants passengers to ensure they know that carrying some of these items, for example batteries, can cause disastrous consequences when in the air.
Geoff Leach, Manager of the Dangerous Goods Office, has said that whilst most people are sensible when packing luggage, “passengers still need to be reminded that some items, which are relatively innocuous in everyday use, are capable of posing a serious risk to an aircraft, no matter where they are carried on the aircraft.” These can include things such as weed killer, petrol, culinary blowtorches and batteries.
Batteries within an electronic gadget rarely pose a safety problem, however if they are loose in a bag or the equipment accidentally turned on, then there is a danger of fire.
Last year on a flight from JFK airport, a fire started in an overhead locker. It was extinguished, however the plane had to return to New York as an emergency landing. The fire is thought to have been started by a battery in an overhead cabinet which had short circuited and over heated.
For a full list of items which cannot be taken on a flights please click here |
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A recent study carried out by travel company, Travelrobe, compared the difference between parking at Gatwick Airport and using public transport. It revealed that when convenience and price is taken into consideration, this could be the main reason why a lot of travellers are using airport parking at Gatwick.
The study was based on 2 adults and 2 children travelling to the airport from central London. 3 modes of travel were used - the Gatwick Express train, a taxi ride, and driving and parking at the airport.
A return trip on the Gatwick Express cost £86.40 (£138 First Class), but this didn’t allow for any bus or underground fares travelling to the train station, or the fact that luggage would have be dragged around with them throughout.
The taxi ride from a pre booked local firm cost on average £90 for a return journey, and with a metered black cab was approximately £70 - however that was for just one way.
Finally, when driving to Gatwick airport and choosing to either park at an off airport car park or a meet and greet on airport parking firm, the costs worked out marginally lower. Based on a 1 week holiday, it costs approximately £52 to park at an off airport car park and £83 for meet and greet at the airport departures.
Not only do prices work out better for parking, but having your car at the airport also allows you to travel when you want to without having to cart luggage on public transport, and you can simply jump in your car and start the journey home. |
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Gatwick Airport will see a new Mecure hotel opening next week by international hotel chain Accor, in partnership with Arora International.
Situated at the previously named Renaissance hotel, Arora managed to secure the lease at Gatwick from Hotel Property Investors. They already have a number of hotels at airports across London and Manchester, including the Sofitel and Arora International at Gatwick.
Chairman, Surinder Arora, said, “Gatwick is one of the most important business and tourist hubs in the South-East of England and I am delighted to add the Mecure as our third property here.”
The Mecure hotel opens on 23rd May and will offer 255 stylish rooms, with a swimming pool and spa, fitness centre, 2 restaurants, meeting facilities, a business centre and plenty of parking.
This will be the UK’s 29th Mecure hotel. |
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One of the UK’s leading baggage handling firms, Aviance, has announced that they will close their Gatwick Airport organisation, resulting in more than 300 people losing their jobs.
The Company has blamed the closure on ‘fundamental changes’ in its business at the airport, and stated that the Gatwick business can no longer operate as a result of the punishing financial regime now governing the UK’s airports.
Aviance provides ground handling services, security, cargo and passenger services at airports across the UK and Ireland, employing more than 5,000. Unite, who represent 80,000 aviation workers, said the job losses at Gatwick would sadden workers across the industry. Unite’s National Secretary for civil aviation, Steve Turner, commented: “These job losses are a huge shock and will bring misery to hundreds of workers, their families and the wider community. We will be doing everything in our power to mitigate the impact, including seeking ways to redeploy workers within other handlers.”
Mick Rix, a national officer of the GMB union who also represent aviation workers, agreed that ‘loyal, experienced’ workers would be ‘upset’ by the job cuts. He also believes that the government are responsible for not only these job losses, but for the state of the aviation industry as a whole.
Steve Turner went on to say, “When a leading provider of baggage handling says its operation at the second largest airport in the country is no longer viable, then something has gone seriously wrong.”
“Government and the aviation industry must take note and act... This race to the bottom has real life consequences - a major employer has been undercut with the result that our members lose their jobs. Passengers and the tens of thousands of aviation workers will not thank Government or the industry for the havoc they are unleashing on the sector.”
Unite will work closely with Aviance to help the Gatwick Airport workers find other jobs. |
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The Government (which basically means us as taxpayers!) has forked out more than £1million, just so that Whitehall officials are able to enjoy the luxury that comes with airport lounges at Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
The Foreign Office is booking up to 100 VIP suites a week, with each booking costing a staggering £623 at Heathrow and £276 at Gatwick.
Mike Penning, Tory shadow minister, said: “The number of bookings is phenomenal”, after he discovered that the bill has so far reached £1,273,000 for airport lounges. “The taxpayer deserves to know why this is happening. It raises serious questions over whether this is good value for money.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson said that the suites were needed for departing Cabinet ministers and their officials, arriving heads of state, and the Royal Family. |
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With the possibility that Gatwick Airport could be one of the London airports sold when the Competition Commission rules on BAA’s ownership of its UK airports, worry is setting in that the plans for the second runway would more than likely be revived.
It is believed that in the report to be published later this year, BAA will be forced to sell one or two of its London airports and one of its Scotland airports. With BAA having put so much investment into Heathrow, Gatwick appears to be the logical answer. A ‘commission source’ told The Times newspaper, “It is very odd that BAA has belatedly supported expansion of Heathrow and Stansted but not Gatwick. The first thing a new owner of Gatwick would do is look at options for expansion, including a new runway.”
However, in 1979 a legal agreement was signed between BAA and West Sussex County Council, which stated that a new runway could not be constructed until 2019. Despite the council stating that any new owner would also be bound by this agreement, campaigners are worried that MP’s could overturn it.
“It is alarming to find the prospect of a second runway being revived”, Chairman of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, Brendon Sewill told The Times.
Back in 2003, possible locations for the second Gatwick runway were published by the Department for Transport. If it were to be construction, the runway would increase Gatwick’s flights by almost double to 486,000 a year - that’s 10,000 more flights than Heathrow made last year.
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