Numerous airlines will be switching terminals at London Heathrow from the end of next month, when the airport's fifth terminal opens. The changes will affect a total of 54 airlines during the coming months in a series of phased moves. The majority of British Airways' flights will switch to the new £4.3 billion (US$8.37 billion) T5 immed-iately it opens on March 27. The rest of its flights will be moved to T3, to join other Oneworld airlines. Alliance partners American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian are already based at T3, and in September they will be accompanied by Finnair and Iberia. Qantas, however, will not join them until early 2009. Other major movers will include Star Alliance airlines, which will use T1. United Airlines and Air New Zealand, for example, will operate there from June 10. Carriers in the SkyTeam alliance will be based at T4. They include Delta, Continental and Northwest, all of which will launch new services from Heathrow this spring as a result of the recent US-UK open skies agreement. Another member, KLM, already uses the terminal. Five other SkyTeam carriers – Air France, Alitalia, Czech Airlines, Aeroflot and Kenya Airways – are scheduled to move there in February 2009. Among those carriers which are not members of major alliances, Virgin Atlantic has confirmed it will remain in T3. But Jet Airways, Gulf Air and Malaysia Airlines are due to move from there to T4 in September. Missed connections concerns
Problems experienced by passengers who miss connecting flights have been highlighted in a report by the UK-based Air Transport Users Council. "Complaints to the AUC show that missing a connection between two flights can cause passengers considerable stress, inconvenience and expense," says AUC chairman Tina Tietjen. "Despite airlines encouraging passengers to take connecting services, not all carriers will commit to looking after their customers should they miss a connection. Some airlines expect passengers to pick up the bill for any expenses incurred, such as meals or hotel accommodation, while waiting for the available flight." In the report, Missed Connections, she urges airlines to look after their customers throughout their journey. "But if they do not, they should at least make it clear what their passengers can expect should they cause them to miss a connection," she adds. Delta goes flat out
Delta Air Lines is to start installing full-flat seats in its BusinessElite cabins on Boeing 767s operating international services from the spring of next year. There will be a total of 40 seats per aircraft, converting to 77-inch beds. The 1x2x1 configuration will give every passenger direct aisle access. The ergonomically designed seats will come with a full-size pillow, quilted duvet, 10.6-inch monitor, PC power and USB port for charging small electronic devices, plus oversized consoles providing generous work space. Meanwhile, recliner seats in BusinessElite are being installed from this summer across Delta's international Boeing 757 fleet. These feature a 55-inch pitch and a 2x2 configuration, and will be available on routes from New York JFK to destinations such as Brussels, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, Manchester and Paris Orly. News in brief Aer Arann has launched an invitation-only VIP programme, Silver Club, giving members Business lounge access in Dublin and Cork, recognition at check-in to get the best seats on the aircraft, extra checked-in baggage allowance of 25kgs, and a special section on its website enabling them to book, track, manage and change reservations. British Airways is introducing flights to a sixth destination in India this autumn. It will operate five departures a week between London Heathrow and Hyderabad, using Boeing 777s. BA already flies to Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.
| 
|
