The Southwest Airlines brand will take over four cities currently served by AirTran by April 2013.

Southwest bought AirTran recently, and big changes are afoot at the airline, including the planned replacement of its Boeing 717 aircraft.

The airports that will see Southwest in place of AirTran from April are:

Charlotte, NC – flights to Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, and Houston Hobby.
Flint, MI – flights to Baltimore/Washington, Orlando, and Tampa.
Portland, ME – flights to Baltimore/Washington.
Rochester, NY – flights to Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Orland, and Tampa.

Gradually Southwest liveries will take over more and more AirTran routes.

(credit to ATW Online)

We didn’t have a summer holiday this year. Instead, we choose to go somewhere hot in the Autumn, and Morocco was our destination of choice.

Despite the distance from home, flying Ryanair from Luton to Marrakech was the most affordable option, so we drove down and found a cheap deal in the Long Stay car park – and as a spotter, this is one of the best. The Harrods hangar and biz jet parking area is right alongside you, and you have a view across to park  of the passenger terminal’s stands, and some of the distant biz jet parking areas.

Getting the bus to the terminal also passes (briefly) some of the other biz jet parking areas. Remember that Luton is London’s biz jet airport of choice, so there’s always something of interest to see. On this visit I saw Chinese and Hong Kong Gulfstreams, and a Kuwaiti A319CJ amongst many others.

Once checked in, we headed upstairs for some food. In the food court you have views over one of the smaller airliner aprons, and in the distance the airport’s single runway. As we ate our lunch, the afternoon departure of the El Al Boeing 767-200 taxied past.

To reach the gates Ryanair use, it’s quite a distant walk. You’ll pass all of the easyJet gates, and then reach the original part of the terminal to join the mad rush for Ryanair flights.

Today we were flying on EI-EFW, one of the more recent Boeing 737-800s the airline uses. Boarding is done by walking to the aircraft, so we headed for the rear stairs to give more chance of a window seat – and more chance to see the aircraft parked around us. From this area you can often see into the maintenance hangars at Luton.

The flight from Luton to Marrakech is around 3hrs 20 mins long. Ryanair’s seating is fairly cramped, and anything you want to eat or drink must be bought. But there wasn’t anything to complain about – the views were good all the way, with a stunning sunset as we reached the African coast and descended for arrival.

It was dark when we landed at Marrakech Airport. Landing on the easterly runway required a number of tight turns just before arrival which felt a bit like the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong!

Just after arrival, another Ryanair aircraft departed, and an easyJet A319 arrived from Manchester, parking next to us.

Soon I’ll post a spotting report from Marrakech Airport to guide you around what the airport has to offer, and how to get the best views there.

For the London Heathrow spotters out there, here are a few changes to look out for over the next few months:

AeroMexico is to begin a Boeing 767-300 service from Mexico City. It will be a 3x weekly service (Mon, Thu, Sat) from 15 December.

Malaysia Airlines will now use the Airbus A380 on all of its scheduled services to/from Kuala Lumpur, replacing the Boeing 777.

LOT Polish Airlines will operate the Boeing 787 on services to/from Warsaw on 21, 22, 29, 30, 31 December, and 1, 2 January.

United Airlines will operate a daily Boeing 787 flight from 4 February – 28 March 2013.

Despite having a 40 year agreement in place which bans London Gatwick Airport from building a second runway before 2019, the airport’s owners – Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) – agree that now is the time to plan for this expansion.

The work programme will now look in detail at the implications of a new runway and will cover all issues which Gatwick anticipates will be relevant. Gatwick believes that the additional capacity, flexibility and resilience that could be provided by a new runway at the airport would help to ensure that London’s airports provide the South East and the UK with the connectivity they need.

They also believe adding a second runway at Gatwick has advantages over plans for a third runway at Heathrow, a second runway at Stansted, or the Thames Estuary Airport.

Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive of Gatwick Airport Limited, said:

“I believe a new runway at Gatwick could be affordable, practical and give passengers a greater choice of routes to key markets. A new runway will allow Gatwick to compete and grow, increasing the choice available to passengers today. We have the space, capability and access to financial resources.

“There are clear practical advantages of a new runway at Gatwick. When compared with a third runway at Heathrow, we would have a significantly lower environmental impact whilst adding significantly more capacity. Stansted is half empty today, we already have much better surface transport links and feel our business case will be much stronger. As for the Estuary airport concepts, there are major questions on affordability, environmental issues and whether they are deliverable.

“The process of evaluating the runway options will be complex. I am committed to undertaking a comprehensive and in-depth assessment that considers not only the economic benefits but also the environmental impacts. We will be consulting with our key stakeholders throughout the process.”

Vietnam’s leading low-cost carrier VietJetAir this week unveiled a new Airbus A320 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

This, the airline’s fourth aircraft, will soon be joined by many more as VietJetAir aims to meet its network expansion plans by the end of 2012 with further internal routes and international destinations on the way.

A new Holiday Inn hotel has recently opened at London Southend Airport.

Feautring 129 bedrooms, it is ideally situated alongside the new terminal building at the rapidly-expanding Essex airport.

Naturally it also features a range of conference and meeting facilities, and other amenities.

But, in a move that will get enthusiasts’ attention, the hotel features the magnificent, fully sound-proofed, 1935 Rooftop Restaurant & Bar. It can seat over one hundred customers, as they gaze out at the spectacular, panoramic views of the airport and surrounding area. See the headline picture in this post for an idea.

The hotel’s location is perfectly suited for in-room spotting, too. All rooms on the north side of the building (including Standard, Executive, and King Superior rooms) face towards the runway and terminal ramp. So you will not miss any movements.

You can find out more, and book rooms, at the Holiday Inn London Southend Airport from this link.

MallorcAviation.net is a great photographic site covering aircraft movements at Palma de Mallorca, in Spain’s Balearic Islands.

I came across the site after working with Toni Marimon recently. He runs the site with some other people, and they have been working hard at adding the collection of Pedro de la Cruz, who has literally thousands of negatives dating back to the 1960s.

Palma has been a very popular and busy holiday airport since the 1960s. It has always been frequented by the various charter and low cost airlines from around Europe. So you can see many great pictures from days and airlines gone by on the site.

It’s also available in English and Spanish.

Check out the site here: http://mallorcaviation.net/

I just received copies of the November 2012 issue of Airliner World. In it is my article on Aviaco – a classic Spanish airline from days gone by.

Aviaco was a pioneer of domestic and charter travel in Spain, starting in the 1960s and eventually being completely merged into Iberia in 1999. You may remember its DC-8s, DC-9′s and F-27s, and you may have flown with them if you went on a charter holiday to Spain from the UK or Germany in the 1980s and 90s.

Other articles in this issue of Airliner World include Airbus Market Forecast, LOT Polish Airlines, Victorville Overview, and the end of bmibaby.

You can buy the issue now in good newsagents, or online here. Let me know what you think of the Aviaco article.

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city.

In the first post, I shadowed the opening of the airport with the Controllers in the Ops Room. In the second I visited the Ramp Control Team as they monitored and planned each aircraft operation.

In this final post, I talk to Geraldine Nolan, Corporate Communications Support, about the vision, airline operators, and the future of London City.

London City History
London City Airport opened in 1987 on a former dock in the East London borough of Newham. Its location, only six miles from the City and Canary Wharf, was key in that it provided close connections to the heart of London, allowing business travellers to fly to European cities with speed and ease not offered by Heathrow or Gatwick. The development of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), with a station at the airport, also allowed easy access to the city’s transport network.

The airport’s short runway meant only certain aircraft types could operate into the airport, and thus range and passenger capacity were limited. The runway was later extended to 1,500m (4,900ft) and a holding area was added to improve the flow of aircraft. The glideslop to the runway was also reduced to 5.5 degrees (from 7.5), however this is still steep enough to require special certification for pilots and aircraft operating into the airport.

London City Today
Today, London City is still primarily a business airport. Geraldine explains that approximately 65% of passengers travel for this reason. However, 35% are leisure passengers – a figure which has risen recently due to the addition of numerous routes by BA CityFlyer to holiday destinations such as Ibiza and Palma.

The airport is owned by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), who also own London Gatwick and Edinburgh airports.

The largest aircraft currently certified to fly into London City are the Airbus A318 and Embraer 190. Recently, all stands have been realigned to cope with the E190 as more airlines have introduced it. The A318s, used by British Airways on their twice weekdaily New York JFK route (via Shannon) exclusively use the extended stands at the eastern end of the apron.

The airport’s terminal has been extended and improved over recent years, with a particular emphasis on the needs of its business passengers. As a result, there are no dedicated business lounges (however, a small lounge does exist for the New York

flight).

Current operations to around 40 destinations are dominated by BA CityFlyer, who operate EMB170/190, and Saab 2000 aircraft. Other principal carriers include Alitalia CityLiner (EMB175/190), Blue Islands (ATR42), British Airways (A318), CityJet (RJ85/100, F50), Lufthansa Regional (EMB190, Q400), Luxair (Q400), Scot Airways (DO328), Skywork (DO328), Swiss European (RJ85/100).

Estonian Air will also begin a new routes to Tallinn with EMB190 aircraft from March 2013.

A Jet Centre at the western end of the airport handles VIP movements, with its own parking apron for executive jets.

London City Future
The airport today handles around 3 million passengers per year and has worked hard to improve efficiency during peak periods. Geraldine explains “We have around 540 employees at the airport, with a further 1,500 employed at concessions and other businesses on the site.”

The future plan is to extend the airport further, adding more parking stands on piles along the largely redundant King George V Dock. It will remain a single-runway airport, however it is hoped that the airport will attain a capacity of 8 million passengers per year by 2030.

The airport has won numerous awards over recent years, and remains committed to its social responsibility, given its location amongst a built-up area. Its popularity is set to ensure the airport will continue to thrive as it moves forward with its expansion plans.

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city.

In the first post, I shadowed the opening of the airport with the Controllers in the Ops Room. Now, in this second post we look at what goes on once the airport is open.

Ramp Control
Situated in the Jet Centre, which is a VIP terminal at the western end of the apron, is the Ramp Control team. Here, two controllers and a third member performing admin duties, are on shift at any one time. On my visit, I met Winston and Natasha, who were in the chair in front of a bank of screens and monitors.

The role of the team is to allocate stands to all inbound aircraft, communicate with ramp operators and bus drivers, and the handling agents working for each company.

The bank of screens allows the team to monitor a radar of inbound aircraft, live cameras looking across the ramp, CFMU (showing slot information for inbound and outbound aircraft), Lynx online flight status system (showing where delays occur with each flight), the live arrivals and departures board (which the team updates), and a system allowing them to assign parking stands for each aircraft due that day.

In between describing their role to me, Winston and Natasha were in constant contact with the various operators to keep them updated of inbound aircraft.

Reducing Delays
Winston explained that it is their duty to try to avoid delays. The ramp is split into four sections, and they will try to ensure that two simultaneous aircraft are not assigned to park in the same section, giving ground operators time to avoid loading delays and peak time stress.

The Lynx online system is currently used by all BA CityFlyer aircraft, and is a way of assessing where delays are occurring or expected with each flight. It splits the whole time on the ground into tasks, such as unloading, refuelling, loading bags etc and this gives the team an indication of where efforts need to be improved or assessed. Punctuality statistics are produced by the team every day, showing the previous day’s performance, and sent to management to assess.

Biz Jets
Executive aircraft using London City are usually handled by the Jet Centre, with its own parking apron. However, sometimes large biz jets will be allocated a stand outside the passenger terminal. On the flip side, if a passenger aircraft has a technical problem, it is often moved to the executive ramp while the issue is resolved in order to keep the passenger stands free.

Stand Assignments
London City has 14 stands, and is extremely confined in terms of space due to its location on a former dock. As a result, the Ramp team needs to make sure there is always space for aircraft to park. This is particularly difficult during the morning and evening peak periods, and where necessary they will advise ATC to delay inbounds in order to allow aircraft on the ground to depart.

All of the stands outside the terminal have now been realigned to allow the larger Embraer 190 aircraft to park, which has made it easier to assign aircraft since any aircraft can now use any stand. However, the British Airways Airbus A318 aircraft used on the New York JFK route take two stands out of action for a longer period of time.

Peak Flow
At its peak morning period, London City’s Ramp Control Team will handle around 56 aircraft. There are usually 117 movements per day on weekdays. Most of the time, aircraft have a 30 minute turnaround.

Better Relations
Agents on the ground are encouraged to shadow the Ramp Control Team in the hope of helping them understand the decisions made which affect their work. This is to help improve relations between the two teams, and also improve the performance of the airport.

My thanks to Winston, Natasha and Geraldine for their hospitality on this visit.