Emirates introduces Airbus superjumbo A380 on Heathrow flights

Award winning long-haul airline Emirates has introduced the world’s biggest passenger aircraft on two of its flights from London Heathrow to Dubai.
Emirates will operate the 489-seater Airbus A380 “superjumbo” on flights EK001 and EK002, which leave Heathrow every day at 7.45am and 1.45pm respectively.
Spread over two levels, the whole of the upper deck of the aircraft is dedicated to Premium Class passengers. Towards the front, First Class passengers can relax in one of 14 flat-bed, massage-equipped private suites. These incorporate remote-controlled doors, a work desk, an electrically controlled mini-bar and one of the most advanced in-flight entertainment systems available. First class customers also have access to two onboard shower spas. Passengers in economy gain larger seats and wider aisles.
Despite its colossal size, Emirates said the A380 makes less than half the noise of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet and uses 20 per cent less fuel.
Emirates president, Tim Clark, said: “We are delighted to bring our customers state-of-the-art comforts which are unmatched anywhere else in the world.
“Despite today’s challenging economic environment, they have responded by booking every seat on our inbound and outbound flights.

Source: Associated Press

Punctuality improves at Heathrow (and Gatwick)

There were fewer flight delays at Heathrow and Gatwick airports according to the latest figures from the Civil Aviation Authority.

On-time performance at both Heathrow and Gatwick improved by 6% in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. On-time is defined as within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time.

At other London airports, Stansted and London City, on-time performance also improved, in both cases by 5%. But at Luton airport only 64% of flights were on time in the third quarter of 2008, a decline of 4% compared to 2007.

Outside London the biggest improvements in on-time performance were recorded at Scottish airports. At Edinburgh airport, there was a dramatic 10% improvement as 77% of flights left on time. Glasgow airport saw a 6% improvement as 76% of flights departed on time.

The CAA statistics also look at average flight delays at UK airports. The average delay for all the scheduled flights monitored fell by two minutes in the third quarter of 2008 to 17 minutes.

At Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle airports average delays decreased. But Luton airport was again the worst performer as average flight delays increased by three minutes to 20 minutes.

The CAA figures also provide useful guidance on which airports to avoid when flying abroad. Of the 75 scheduled and charter destinations handling the largest number of passengers in the third quarter of 2008, Athens airport had the worst on-time performance. Only just over half, 52%, of flights left on time from Athens airport. The highest average flight delay, of 29 minutes, was recorded by Toronto airport.

Beware of flying to Bodrum (Milas) airport in Turkey. This was the worst charter destination, with average flight delays of 35 minutes and on-time performance of just 55%.

The best performing airport of the top 75 scheduled and charter destinations was Rotterdam airport. Here on-time performance was a very creditable 85% and average delays only eight minutes.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Northern Foods wins British Airways (BA) contract

Northern Foods has won a slice of British Airways' in-flight meals business, replacing Gate Gourmet in supplying meals and sandwiches for short-haul flights from Heathrow airport.

Three years ago BA had to cancel flights when an industrial dispute at Gate Gourmet spread to BA, meaning there were no in-flight meals for passengers.

Northern, the food manufacturer, will combine with DHL, the logistics company owned by Deutsche Post, on the 10-year contract. Northern said it was delighted to have been chosen by BA "based on the quality of our food".

The move takes Northern outside its supermarket customer base for the first time. Its biggest customer is Marks and Spencer, and it also supplies other major UK food retailers with own-label products and branded products such as Fox's biscuits and Goodfella's pizzas.

Northern had hinted previously that it was looking for new "channels" aside from retailers to diversify its customer base. Analysts speculated the deal could be followed by other similar contracts. Northern's shares closed up ½p at 54¾p.

BA said it opened a tendering process 18 months ago and looked at a range of options for its in-flight catering, which supplies about 100,000 meals a day and is worth £150m a year to its suppliers. BA said it had decided on the best combination of service and logistical capability. Unlike some low-cost airlines, BA provides free catering on its flights, including the shorter ones.

DHL is already a large supplier to "airside" caterers at Heathrow and has premises at the airport. Northern plans to make the food at its existing factories and deliver it to DHL, which will assemble the trays and handle the transfer to aircraft.

Gate Gourmet has retained the long-haul portion of the contract from Heathrow, while Alpha Flight, owned by Autogrill of Italy, is keeping the business for flights from Gatwick and other UK and Irish regional airports. Gate Gourmet said it was delighted to have kept the long-haul contract, which "reinforces our position as one of the market leaders in this sector".

BA said the decision to take the short-haul business away from Gate Gourmet was not a result of the problems the airline suffered in August 2005, when an industrial dispute at the caterer led to hundreds of flights being cancelled during the holiday season. The episode was expensive for BA and upset passengers.

At the time Gate Gourmet, which had been bought by Texas Pacific Group, the private equity firm, after the collapse of its previous owner, Swissair, was facing losses from its business with BA. In the aftermath of the dispute BA extended its contract to 2010 and increased its size in order to support Gate Gourmet.

Source: Reuters

Ryanair pledges to reinstate Shannon-Heathrow route

Ryanair has pledged to reinstate the Shannon-Heathrow route and recognise unions at Aer Lingus should its takeover bid be successful.

It also promised to provide a €100 million bank guarantee to eliminate Aer Lingus’s fuel charge.

In a statement this evening, Ryanair outlined the case for its proposed €748 million merger with Aer Lingus which has been rejected by the Aer Lingus board.

Ryanair said as part of the merger deal it would give the Government control of Aer Lingus's takeoff and landing slots at London's Heathrow airport in order to guarantee the continuation of routes from Ireland.

"By giving watertight control over Aer Lingus' (Heathrow) slots, we effectively remove any need for the Irish government to retain a strategic shareholding," chief executive Michael O'Leary said.

Ryanair said the merger would see the return of the Shannon-Heathrow route with a minimum twice daily frequency.

The Heathrow slots needed to meet this commitment would be switched from one of Aer Lingus’s other Heathrow routes, it said.

Ryanair also pledged to provide another €100 million bank guarantee that Aer Lingus’ short haul fares would be reduced by a minimum of 5 per cent for a three year period.

Ryanair claimed the reductions in short haul fares and removal of fuel surcharges woulddeliver annual consumer savings of over €140 million.

Mr O'Leary met with Mr Dempsey and officials from his department at Leinster House at about 7pm last night to make his case for the deal.

Source: Associated Press

British Airways (BA) flight from Thailand on route to Heathrow

British tourists that have been stranded in Thailand, some since early last week, will arrive back at Heathrow today on the first flight operated by British Airways out of Thailand since anti-government demonstrators closed Bangkok’s international airport.

British Airways officials announced that a relief flight, carrying approximately 160 passengers, would land at Heathrow on Friday afternoon.

The British carrier sent an empty plane to Phuket, the well-known resort in southern Thailand, to pick up its customers. Free coach transportation had been arranged for tourists to travel from Bangkok to Phuket in order to catch the flight.

A spokesman for BA said: “We have laid on a special flight from Phuket to Heathrow for our customers who have been unable to travel.

He went on to say: “It is a 272 seater aircraft with about 160 passengers on board. We bussed customers Bangkok down to Phuket so that they can catch the flight.”

The Boeing 777, which has a capacity for carrying 272 passengers, is expected to land at Heathrow at approximately 2:05pm local time.

According to the spokesman, the flight was not full as Qantas, BA’s oneworld partner, had already flown passengers back to the UK via Singapore.

The Bangkok international airport, Suvarnabhumi, has official reopened, but it is operating at only around 50 per cent capacity, with dozens of flights still cancelled.

Nearly 5,000 Britons were reportedly stranded in Thailand by the occupation of Bangkok’s airports by anti-government protesters.

Source: British Airways

Britain delays decision on Heathrow expansion

Britain says it has delayed its decision on whether to build a third runway at London's Heathrow airport.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon says the decision will be made in January instead of this month as had been planned.

Airports operator BAA says Heathrow needs an extra runway by 2020 to cope with increased demand. Heathrow is Europe's busiest airport.

Campaigners have opposed the plan, saying expansion will increase noise pollution and harm the environment.

Some officials favor building a new airport rather than expanding Heathrow. London Mayor Boris Johnson has suggested a new site in the Thames River estuary, east of London.

Hoon said Thursday he will consider the issue further before making a decision on the runway.

Source: Associated press