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Gatwick airport news - October, 2008 |
British Airways launched a new daily flight between Gatwick Airport and New York JFK International Airport this week, boosting their flights between the 2 airports to 62 times a week. The new Gatwick flights are in addition to the 55 flights currently flying out of Heathrow.
The airline will use a Boeing 777 with a four-class seat arrangement - 14 First Class, 48 Club World (business class), 40 World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and 124 World Traveller (economy). |
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A study carried out by Co-operative Travel has revealed that families with young children are being unfairly hit with excess baggage costs. On average, a young child needs essential items which can weigh up to 15kg, and with most airlines only allowing 20kg per adult, it makes packing everything else quite a struggle.
At the time of the study, the top airlines for families were Virgin and British Airways, who offer an additional infant allowance on top of their generous 23kg baggage allowance. However, excess charges were very high at between £30 to £120 per bag.
Following the study, Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways implemented a new policy on baggage allowance to help travelling with children easier, which will come into effect on flights departing on or after 1st May 2009. The current allowance is 25kg combined of checked in and hand luggage, but the new policy will allow an additional 10kg per infant. Pushchairs/buggies are still free and do not count as part of the baggage allowance.
The worst airline for travelling with small children was Ryanair, who only offer 15kg with no allowance for infants. Any excess baggage is charged at £12 per kg.
Co-operative Travel is hoping the study will call attention to the issue and make more airlines adapt their policies. They suggested that parents should check if they can book additional weight/bags when making the booking, to see if that will help save on extortionate excess charges.
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Major fashion retailer Next has opened a new giant 4,000sq ft store at Gatwick South Terminal, and is currently showcasing its Autumn/Winter 2008 collection.
The store employs more than 60 people, and has been finished with ‘stunning mirror-finish chrome and pale limestone ceramic tiling’.
Hazel Curry, Head of Fashion and Well-Being at BAA described Next as ‘a much-loved fashion brand’ that will make a ‘fantastic addition’ to Gatwick airports’ existing shopping.
She went on to say, “The new 4,000 square feet store is strikingly stylish, launching with the autumn/winter line [so] our customers can be sure to expect great buys that are hot on trends to keep the whole family happy. We know that our customers flying from Gatwick won't be able to resist popping in and buying that must-have new item.” |
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A joint £2 billion bid for Gatwick Airport by US banking company Citigroup and Vancouver Airports Authority has been reported by the Times newspaper this week. 5 or 6 groups coming from infrastructure funds and airport operators are anticipated to appear in the very near future.
It is not the first partnership to be planning to bid for the airport after BAA put Gatwick up for sale.
Manchester Airports Group has been reported to have been talking to prospective partners to make a bid, with Goldman Sachs Infrastructure being one of them. If true, it is thought the group bid would also include Canadian fund Borealis, owners of Associated British Ports, and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which owns a little under half of Birmingham airport. |
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How many times have you got to the airport to check in, only to find you’ve over packed and are asked to pay a an excess baggage charge?
Well, a recent survey conducted by Thomsonfly and their passengers revealed that over 30% of holidaymakers overload their suitcases - and women are the main culprits!
60% of the women surveyed admitted that they knew they wouldn’t wear everything they had packed, compared with over 78% of men feeling they had taken the right amount with them, possibly even not enough. Unsurprisingly, shoes were a main contender - based on a 4 night break, women take on average 4 pairs of shoes, compared to men and their single pair. 80% of women also admitted taking their own hairdryer, curlers and straighteners, regardless of whether the hotel provides them or not.
One thing was agreed on however by both men and women. More than a quarter of travellers, when asked what they would leave behind, said their partner, with their mother-in-law coming in a close second, and an iron! |
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Following the fire at Forgewood Industrial Estate in Manor Royal, near Gatwick Road, the company who runs the car parking business has decided to offer a £1000 reward to help catch the arsonists who damaged 19 holiday makers’ cars.
Despite not being officially named, it has been reported that the car park is run by Gatwick Worth Hotel. A statement was issued saying, “We would like to express our utter disgust at the mindless arson attack. We would also like to convey our sincerest apologies to our customers who have been affected.” It also went on to say that they would give their customers one day free car hire to help get them home once they got back from their trip abroad.
The Fire and Rescue Service were at the car park for almost 3 hours trying to salvage as much as they could, however the fire, which started just before 2.30am, reached several fuel tanks, exploding and gutting many cars.
District commander of Crawley Police, Chief Inspector Steve Curry, said, “I am very grateful to the business concerned for the way in which they have supported our investigation. Their determination to see justice done is furthered by their decision to put up the £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those offenders.” |
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A serious fire, which is thought to have been deliberately started in the early hours of this morning in a car park near Gatwick Airport, has damaged 19 cars.
A passer-by called the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service to the scene at Gatwick Road open air car park at approximately 2.30am. Initially only 2 cars were affected, but it quickly spread to another 17 cars. Fire-fighters used 4 appliances plus foam spreading units to put out the fire of cars thought to belong to travellers who have flown out from Gatwick Airport.
The West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service left at 5.30am and were due to return later in order to inspect the scene. |
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Kiss Flights, a new seat only tour operator set up by Gatwick based aviation broking company Meridian Aviation, are offering a programme of daily flights to 11 destinations starting next summer, some of which replace those lost after XL Airways collapsed last month.
Their website, kissflights.com, advertises their company as ‘dynamic’ and says that Kiss Flights is a trading name of Meridian Aviation UK Ltd, who have been established for over 10 years. Kiss are also fully ATOL bonded.
Their schedules will depart from both Gatwick Airport and Manchester Airport, flying to holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, two resorts in Egypt’s Red Sea - Sharm el Sheik and Hurghada, 7 Greek Islands, and Dalaman in Turkey.
Meridian Aviation is also the sales agents for Viking Airlines, the Swedish carrier, who will be operating flights using two Boeing 737’s for Kiss Flights. |
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British Airways will be launching new weekly flights on 10 January 2009, from Gatwick Airport to St Kitts and Nevis.
A BA spokesman commented, “This new route to St Kitts underlines our commitment both to the Caribbean and Gatwick and re-establishes a connection between the UK and the island. The region is performing extremely well for us. The introduction of St. Kitts as a British Airways route means that we now operate to 11 destinations in the Caribbean.” |
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Previously interested in the auction of Southend Airport, it has been reported that London City has now turned its attention to Gatwick Airport.
It would be a massive disappointment for the sale of Southend if London City confirm the statement, as they were considered to be the ‘hot favourite’. Despite the fact that 3 other interested parties are meant to be battling it out in the £100m auction, it has lasted more than 7 months and a bidder was anticipated to be revealed back in July/August.
The Independent has quoted that a ‘source’ close to the owners of London City - AIG and GIP (Global Infrastructure Partners) - has said, “There's bigger fish to fry. We've not pulled out, but we're not progressing work. With the problems in the debt market, Regional Airports [owner of Southend] missed the boat and should have sold it a year sooner.” |
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A new and improved Budget Rent A Car operation has opened at Gatwick Airport, offering customers a number of different vehicles, from a Ford Focus to a Ford Explorer, and speciality cars like a Ford Mustang.
The new, expanded site is conveniently positioned to assist both leisure and business customers at the airport, as well as around the nearby district.
Budget customers travelling to the airport will receive a free shuttle service to and from the Gatwick location. |
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Following last months revelation that BAA will sell Gatwick Airport, they have chosen HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland to advise in the preparation of the airports’ sale. It has been reported that formal agreements could be signed by the banks later this week.
Analyst Steven Fernandez, from Exane BNP Paribas in Paris, told Bloomberg that BAA could sell Gatwick airport for £3 billion. “The process is moving along and Ferrovial [owner of BAA] is certainly committed to selling as long as they can get a good price. There's a lot of interest in airports and credit for infrastructure assets is still open, albeit at a more expensive rate.” |
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The Financial Times has reported that in 2007, BAA received a net retail income of £490m from the 150 million passengers across their 7 UK airports - Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton.
A massive £164million of this revenue came from their airport parking side of business. It also reported that the largest increase in their earnings came from airside shopping which came up 8.4% from 2006. Whilst the average spend per person appears low at £3.27, the FT compared this to Naples airport (also BAA owned), whose average was just £1.90 per passenger. |
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