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Brexit uncertainty, but LHR is doing well

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Despite Brexit uncertainty, Heathrow remains a bright light for the UK, with the role we play in keeping people and products moving evident. Our new domestic connections will be pivotal in linking more regions and nations to global opportunities, benefiting all corners of this great country and we look forward to announcing many more of these as part of the expansion programme,”  Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said

  • Heathrow’s passenger numbers continued to climb in March, with over 6.5 million passengers travelling through the UK’s only hub airport, ringing in the 29th consecutive month of record growth for the airport. Notable spikes in the previous month were St Patricks and Mother’s Day, attitudes towards travel remain strong despite ongoing uncertainty around Brexit’.
  • Africa performed especially well over the past month, increasing by 6.2% compared to the same time last year. Domestic connections also saw a slight uplift (+0.2%) with British Airways launching its 2nd service to Inverness and Flybe growing their loads by more than a fifth (23%) with an inaugural flight to Cornwall on March 31.
  • More than 149,000 metric tonnes of cargo travelled through the UK’s biggest port by value, further demonstrating the importance of Heathrow in a post Brexit world.
  • Both Latin America and Africa saw remarkable double digit growth with the former up 23% on 2018 due to additional services to Brazil and increased volumes to Mexico. Freight to and from Africa grew by 11%, thanks to Virgin’s growth on routes to the continent.
  • Two of Heathrow’s Terminals made it into the top five globally, with Terminal 5 taking top spot. In addition, Heathrow was voted amongst the world’s top 10 airports overall and won “Best airport in Western Europe” and “World’s Best Airport Shopping”.
  • In March, Heathrow launched the airport’s new Innovation Prize to fund ideas and solutions addressing aviation environmental impact. The prize is sponsored by Heathrow’s new Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, which connects experts and offers Heathrow as a living laboratory to test and develop ideas that encourage sustainable aviation.
  • The expansion project reached another significant milestone, as the names and locations of the 18 shortlisted sites in the running to become offsite construction centres for Britain’s new runway were revealed. Shortlisted sites will now pitch to airport bosses for their chance to become one of the final four construction centres, to be announced early next year.
  • Heathrow announced the launch of their 10th domestic route. The route is operated by Flybe and links the hub airport to Cornwall in Newquay for the first time since 1997.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

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Heathrow zaps the airport with speedy Wi-Fi

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Heathrow has launched a fast speed Wi-Fi service at the airport. In partnership with Boingo, passengers at all Heathrow terminals are now able to enjoy the new Wi-Fi experience with up to 100 Mbps (megabytes per second) speeds.

Whether it’s booking last-minute travel insurance, pre-ordering groceries for the return home or streaming cartoons to keep children entertained, passengers will have no time limit when browsing on Wi-Fi at the airport.

The new service uses Passpoint1 technology to deliver a next generation, secure Wi-Fi experience and will enable travellers to seamlessly roam between Wi-Fi and cellular for a better-connected experience. Investments have been made to upgrade the wireless network across the airport, ensuring bandwidth capacity, and Boingo has installed two new high-speed internet links at the airport as part of the service overhaul.

Passengers who are already members of the Heathrow Rewards loyalty programme can earn 100 points by signing in to the new Wi-Fi with their Rewards account.

John Arbuckle, Head of Property at Heathrow said, “Whether passengers are streaming, browsing or working on the go, we’re excited to improve their connectivity experience with the latest generation of Boingo’s award-winning Wi-Fi. This is just one of many initiatives that Heathrow has invested in to serve and delight our 80 million passengers, making Heathrow a world-class airport”.

Dawn Callahan, Chief Marketing Officer at Boingo said, “Passpoint is a Wi-Fi game changer that facilitates a seamless, secure and fast connected experience for Heathrow passengers. We’re proud to introduce the technology at the busiest airport in Europe and launch easy-to-use, high-speed Wi-Fi that travellers now expect.”

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London to Chengdu now direct

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panda

Heathrow today has welcomed Air China’s thrice-weekly service to Chengdu, home to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base and Sichuan Cuisine.  The launch of the service comes as new CEBR research shows a remarkable rise in the value of Chinese exports via Heathrow.

Heathrow’s new route to Chengdu is the airport’s 12th direct connection to China. The number of Chinese connections via the UK’s hub airport has more than doubled since the start of 2018 when there were just five routes available. To fly to Chengdu, Air China will use an A330-200 aircraft facilitating the transport of 80,000 passengers a year and 3,744 tonnes of cargo between China and the UK.

Heathrow’s latest Trade Tracker, by economic analysts CEBR, shows that while China’s own exports have decreased, the exports to China from Heathrow are not showing any sign of slowing down. China is now the third most valuable export destination from the airport, following the US and the EU.  Exports via Heathrow to China have grown in value by 135% in 2018 compared to 2017, totaling over £7 billion. The same analysis shows that, on average, every operational hour at Heathrow sees nearly £10 million of exports fly out across the world.

An analysis of Heathrow cargo data value reveals the top exports flying via the airport to China in 2018. The top annual export, pharmaceuticals, was valued at an astounding US$461.05 million. Other top exports by value include:

1.      Aerospace materials –  US $334.24 million

2.      Art – US $151.9 million

3.      Computers – US $67.69 million

4.      Clothing and fashion accessories –  US $29.8 million

5.      Footwear – US $12.6 million

By identifying efficiencies and gaps in schedules, Heathrow has been able to accommodate new routes to China.  However, this is a limited and piecemeal approach.  Expansion of Heathrow, the UK’s only hub airport and biggest port by value, will allow Britain the opportunity to build and maintain the vitally important trade connections to China the country needs, especially with a future outside the EU.

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Boston-Logan Airport: New international routes

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The last 24 hours have brought 2 new international flights to Boston Logan International Airport, thanks to Delta joint venture partners KLM and Virgin Atlantic – setting the stage for a year of growth and expansion for Delta in the Northeast.

Delta Air Lines and its partners KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and Korean Air will offer up to 149 daily departures to more than 50 destinations from Boston-Logan Airport in 2019, an increase of nearly 30 daily departures compared to 2018. New routes include Amsterdam, London-Heathrow, Lisbon, Edinburgh, and Seoul.

KLM – Amsterdam

On March 31, KLM began flying between Boston and Amsterdam, adding to the two daily flights to Amsterdam already operated at Logan Airport by Delta. KLM CEO Pieter Elbers joined officials from Massport, Delta leaders, customers and employees at the airport in a ribbon-cutting ceremony ahead of the outbound flight across the Atlantic.

Virgin Atlantic – London-Heathrow

And on April 1, Virgin Atlantic launched its daytime service from Boston to London-Heathrow – a morning departure that will better enable in-flight workday productivity for London-bound business travelers. Virgin and Delta together now offer three daily flights to Heathrow Airport from Boston.

Delta – Lisbon and Edinburgh

Later this spring, Delta will begin its own seasonal Boston service to Lisbon and Edinburgh, rounding out a full slate of new international destinations now directly accessible to Boston customers. Through this and an extended summer season to Dublin, by May Delta and its partners will offer the most international seats from Boston with flights to up to 19 international destinations — more than ever before.

Korean Air – Seoul-Incheon

A third partner, Korean Air, will start new service in Boston on April 12, when it begins nonstop flights to Seoul, one of the first additions to that joint venture’s transpacific network since Delta and Korean Air launched their partnership last May.

This new Boston flying comes as Delta continues to reinforce its position as the city’s leading carrier and deepen its investment at Logan Airport and in the greater Boston community. Overall, the airline and its partners will offer up to 149 daily departures to more than 50 destinations from Logan in 2019, an increase of nearly 30 daily departures compared to 2018.

Delta has doubled domestic daily departures out of Boston since 2013 and this year will serve four additional domestic destinations — Cleveland, Chicago, Washington-Reagan, and Newark-Liberty — while also adding more frequencies in another seven key domestic markets. Overall, the airline and its partners will offer up to 149 daily departures to more than 50 destinations from Logan in 2019, an increase of nearly 30 daily departures compared to 2018.

In addition to Delta’s network growth, the airline is also investing in Boston in other ways. With Massport’s partnership, Delta plans to assume operations at all gates at Logan’s Terminal A by the third quarter of 2019, growing its airport footprint by five gates. Delta also plans by 2020 the expansion of one of its Delta Sky Clubs, including new showers, expanded seating and a reimagined food and beverage area.

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Munich to Osaka now nonstop on Lufthansa

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Lufthansa launched a new service from Munich to Osaka on March 31 using an A350 aircraft. Along with the established flights operated by Lufthansa and All Nippon Airways to Tokyo, Munich Airport is now offering a second Japanese destination for the first time. With three daily connections, Munich Airport now ranks fifth in Europe in terms of flights to and from Japan.

From Europe, Japan’s third-largest city can be reached non-stop only from Amsterdam, Helsinki, London-Heathrow, Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and now Munich. Japan is one of the most important destinations in Asia – as demonstrated by the rising passenger figures. In 2018 a total of 200,000 passengers traveled in each direction between Munich and Japan.

Asian routes are the main source of growth in intercontinental traffic in the summer of 2019. “We believe that Munich Airport will establish itself as a convenient hub for travel to Asia in the coming years and see strong potential for further growth in this market segment,” says Oliver Dersch, Munich Airport’s Vice President for Traffic Development.

Lufthansa is also adding a daily connection to Bangkok starting in June 2019, complementing the existing service operated by Thai Airways. Moreover, Lufthansa is bumping up the frequency of its flights to Seoul from 6/7 to 7/7. From June onward, Lufthansa will increase its service to Singapore from five flights a week to a daily connection.

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LHR: New Royal Family members mean new London Heathrow Terminal Names

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London Heathrow Airport is set to rename its four terminals as the airport prepares for the arrival of the new royal baby, expected sometime in the spring.

The newest terminal, Terminal 2, previously known as the Queen’s Terminal will be christened with its new name following the baby’s arrival. In preparation for the most significant re-branding exercise in the airport’s history, road signs will be changed, taxi drivers briefings are being arranged and satellite navigation systems will be updated

With a long heritage of association with the royal family, Heathrow has today announced that it will rename its four airport terminals after the newest generation of royals, as the airport joins Duchess of Sussex in preparing for the arrival of the new baby.

Heathrow’s busiest terminal, which handles an average of 89,000 passengers on any given day – Terminal 5 will be renamed the ‘Prince George Terminal’. Heathrow’s most diverse terminal, Terminal 4, which is home to 34 airlines flying to 123 different destinations, colloquially known as the commonwealth terminal, will be dubbed the ‘Princess Charlotte Terminal’. The terminal with the most flights to California, Terminal 3, with flights to 3 of the golden state’s major airports, will have its name changed to the ‘Prince Louis Terminal’ and Heathrow’s newest terminal will be named after the new arrival, once the baby has been christened. Runway slots at the capacity constrained airport will be allocated in order of succession to the throne.

In preparation for Heathrow’s most extensive re-branding exercise in the airport’s history, which will see the names changed on hundreds of signs, the airport has worked with several groups to make sure that everyone is briefed and prepared to help passengers make their way to sunnier climes. Taxi drivers will be briefed, navigation apps are set to be updated, road signs leading to the airport along the M25 will be changed and iconic airport landmarks such as Terminal 5’s Welcome roundabout, will be renamed, all in time for the Easter holiday peak which will see over 260,000 people travel out of the UK’s only hub on the 12th (April 2019’s busiest day).

A spokesperson for Heathrow said:“Heathrow has a long history of being a transport hub for the UK and for the British royal family, and we are proud to usher in the newest generation of royals by giving them each their own terminal. As the royal family prepares to welcome their new arrival, we’ll be gearing up to welcome our own special arrivals during the Easter holiday peak.”

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Heathrow Airport: Calling all sustainable innovators

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Heathrow has today launched a prize worth £30,000, to be awarded to a winning idea that will help the airport reduce its carbon emissions as it explores solutions that will address climate change. Heathrow’s new “Innovation Prize” is part of the airport’s new “Centre of Excellence,” which is a hub of learning and exploration that will accelerate the arrival of sustainable air travel. Heathrow has also today announced the launch of its first research think tank comprised of British universities.

The new Innovation Prize is open to those with entrepreneurial ideas on how to reduce carbon impacts through one of three ways:

  • Sustainable surface transport: Enabling travel to and from the airport with low or zero emissions;
  • Preparing for sustainable flight: Expediting the arrival of a fossil-fuel free flight, including through the introduction of new hybrid and electric aircraft; and
  • Delivering negative emissions: Finding new, practical ways to capture and use carbon at or near the airport.

Applications for the Innovation Prize will be accepted until May 22 online through a dedicated website.

The prize is sponsored by Heathrow’s Centre of Excellence which connects experts – from entrepreneurs to academics – and offers Heathrow itself as a living laboratory to test and try new ideas to encourage sustainability in aviation. The Centre is already investigating how to turn waste plastics into pavement materials at the airport.

Matt Gorman, Heathrow Director of Sustainability, said: “Climate change is the greatest threat facing our generation and it is imperative we take meaningful steps to address our impacts – and we need to make them quickly. Through the Centre of Excellence, and by partnering with top scientists we will continue to think radically about sustainability, translate ideas into action at Heathrow, and across our industry.”

The Centre of Excellence will bring together Heathrow’s first think tank of university partners to work with the airport on new coordinated research on sustainable aviation challenges. Brunel University London, Cranfield University, the University of Essex and Royal Holloway, University of London will be invited to pitch their ideas for funding starting this summer, before initiating the successful projects later this year. The think tank will explore topics such as carbon and net zero air travel alongside other environmental challenges like noise, air quality and waste.

Professor Geoff Rodgers, Vice-Provost for Research at Brunel University London, the airport’s most local university, said: “We consider the sustainability agenda around airports and aviation to be one of the premier opportunities for UK research and innovation. Brunel University London is delighted to be involved in this initiative. It will allow us to work in collaboration with Heathrow and the other partners to develop the innovative technologies necessary for the sustainable development and growth of the airport.”

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Frankfurt airport grounds all flights after drone sighting

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Frankfurt am Main Airport (Frankfurt Airport), the largest airport in Europe, had to halt all incoming and outgoing flights after the drone that was sighted over the southern part of the airport.

Airport shutdown lasted for about 30 minutes. This time was taken by law enforcement and airport security to identify the aerial target. Half an hour later, all airport operations were back to normal, per official airport account on Twitter. The police did not comment on the incident and did not tell about the results of the inspection.

Earlier, similar incidents occurred at the largest airports in the world: Gatwick, Heathrow, as well as at Dublin International Airport.

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Oman Air climbs to first place in one of Heathrow’s greenest years yet

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Oman Air has landed first place in the latest Heathrow “Fly Quiet and Green” league table, due to its use of ‘Continuous Decent Approach’ which helps to reduce fuel burn and minimise noise by arriving aircraft. This achievement builds on the strides made in the previous quarter (Q3) which saw Oman Air leaping up 26 spots after phasing out their older aircraft and replacing them with the ultra-quiet and green 787 Dreamliners. Oman Air’s drastic improvement shows the impact technology can have on an airline’s environmental performance and the importance of the “Fly Quiet and Green” league – the UK’s first in advocating sustainable action.

The latest Heathrow “Fly Quiet and Green” league table publishes the top 50 busiest airlines at Heathrow on seven noise and emission metrics from October to December 2018. The results show Heathrow airlines have a clear commitment to modernising their fleet and working to adopt techniques which will help to reduce the airport’s impact on local communities. In addition to this public ranking, Heathrow encourages new technology through environmental pricing incentives, which reduce landing charges for airlines operating their greenest and quietest aircraft at our airport. The top environmental performers such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350s now make up over a tenth of planes at Heathrow.

Other airlines at the top of the League rankings included British Airways (short haul fleet), which jumped up to second place due to its improved punctuality benefitting both local communities and passengers alike. SAS placed third, moving up three places in the latest table due to the introduction of A320 neos to their fleet. Icelandair earns most improved airline, jumping an astounding 40 places to take the 11th spot. The airline has worked to improve its use of Continuous Decent Approach, whilst sticking more closely to the designated flight paths set for pilots, which assists the provision of predictable respite for local communities.

This news comes shortly after the conclusion of Heathrow’s eight-week Airspace and Future Operations consultation during which local residents were given the opportunity to share their views on the airport’s future airspace design – both for the existing two runways and as part of the proposed expansion. Heathrow’s consultation is part of a nationwide move to modernise the country’s airspace for the first time since the 1960s, potentially boosting punctuality for passengers by reducing the need for routine stacking as well as providing guaranteed respite for the airport’s local communities and reducing airplane emissions.

Matt Gorman, Heathrow’s Director of Sustainability, said:

“As we prepare to expand our airport, we’re working with airlines to encourage fierce competition for the top spot of the ‘Fly Quiet and Green’ league table and it’s brilliant to see more airlines vying for pole position. As airlines modernise their fleets, we’ll also be engaging with local communities to modernise the UK’s airspace, enabling aircraft to more efficiently use the skies around us, increasing punctuality whilst reducing emissions and noise in future.”

Abdul Aziz Al Raisi, Chief Executive Officer, Oman Air said:

“We follow Heathrow’s Quiet and Green league table very closely and it is indeed gratifying to see Oman Air rank first for the fourth quarter of 2018. Moving to the quieter, more efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner has had a positive impact and shows our commitment to operating the most environmentally friendly aircraft across our growing international network. This is indeed a proud moment to see our efforts recognised by one of the world’s leading airports.”

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