Posts

Kelly

Manchester Airport completes first phase of £1bn transformation

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Manchester Airport is celebrating the completion of the first major phase of its £1bn transformation programme this month.

Passengers flying out of the UK’s third largest airport are able to use a giant new pier, which connects to Terminal 2, for the first time.

The 216 metre pier provides extensive, panoramic views of the airfield and will be used by all airlines currently operating out of T2. The first flights to depart were operated by TUI Airways and went to Madeira and Naples.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said:

This is a significant milestone for Manchester Airport as we deliver the first phase of the biggest investment we have made in our 80 year history.

We’re delighted to wave off the first handful of flights from the new pier, as we build up to bringing it into full operation in the days ahead.

What that means is our customers can start to enjoy the new facilities, at the same time as getting a taste of what to expect from the next stages of our £1bn transformation programme.

Over the coming years we will transform the airport for all of our customers, giving the North the world class airport it deserves. The investment we are making and the range of destinations we connect to, in all corners of the world, underlines the vital role Manchester Airport plays in creating jobs and driving growth across the North of England.

Having first put a spade in the ground in July 2017, a huge amount of work has gone into getting our new pier and multi-storey car park ready to open and I would like to thank all of our colleagues and delivery partners for their efforts.

The new pier was opened at around 4.30am on Monday, with passengers treated to entertainment by the NoTTwins, who featured on Britain’s Got Talent, the Loose Change Buskers who are raising money for Cancer Research, guitarist Jack O’Malley and Christian Marshall, a caricaturist to mark the occasion.

Also, attending the celebrations was TUI Airways crew member Caroline Cox from Bolton. She operated on the first flight out of Terminal 2 to Alicante when it opened back in 1993. Having worked for the company for 33 years, her elder son is now following in her footsteps and is a First Officer for the airline.

The opening marks the next phase of the airport’s transformation programme that will see Terminal 2 become the focal point of its operations. More than 1,750 people are currently working on the project which recently welcomed its 100th apprentice as work gathers pace. Over the coming weeks more and more flights will gradually move over to the new pier as it becomes fully operational.

Manchester Airport’s new pier is the first phase of a £1 billion transformation

The next phase of the £1bn transformation is the extension to the existing Terminal 2. Work is well underway and will see the terminal more than double in size. The extension will open in summer 2020 with 40 plus new food and beverage outlets and shops, followed by a further 40 when the existing building is fully refurbished

Peter Jones, Operations Leader for Laing O’Rourke, said:

It is a significant achievement to have the pier, link bridge and multi-storey car park ready for airport guests within 18 months. The project’s design, construction methods and logistics were all planned digitally before construction on the edge of the live airfield began. Our digital engineering approach meant we, and our project partners were able to work together efficiently; putting productive solutions in place to minimise disruption to passengers and staff, while delivering new facilities for Manchester Airport on time.

The opening comes as the airport continues to see passenger numbers continue to grow as it attracts further long-haul routes to likes of Addis Ababa and Seattle. The transformation will ensure the Northern hub can continue to play its role as a global gateway and economic and employment generator, as it plugs the region into key global destinations and widens UK connectivity.

Contact your GTM Account Manager when you next need to fly into – or out of – Manchester Airport.

Paul

Delta proposes flights between Haneda and 5 new US cities

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Delta Air Lines has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to launch daily daytime services between Tokyo-Haneda airport and Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta and Portland, as well as a twice-daily service between Haneda and Honolulu.

Delta’s proposed routes would be the only direct service offered by U.S. carriers between Haneda, Tokyo’s preferred airport for business travellers and the closest to the city centre, and the communities of Seattle, Portland, Atlanta and Detroit.

Together with the carrier’s existing service to Haneda from Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles, these new routes would bring Delta’s proven operational reliability and exceptional service to more customers travelling between a broad network of U.S. cities and Tokyo’s preferred airport.

Additionally, Delta’s proposal provides a competitive alternative for consumers to the service offered by other U.S. carriers and their Japanese joint venture partners, ANA and JAL.

Delta’s existing service to Haneda from Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles has already delivered substantial consumer benefits, including transporting over 800,000 passengers since the inauguration of daytime flights. The airline claims its proposal for additional service would:

  • Provide more attractive flight times for customers arriving and departing Haneda while enhancing connecting opportunities in the Pacific Northwest, Southeast, and Northeast;
  • Facilitate the development of trade and tourism between five of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas and Tokyo;
  • Serve a geographically diverse set of markets and communities through the comprehensive route networks offered at each of Delta’s hub gateways;
  • Provide additional capacity and greater convenience for the large business communities in all of these proposed gateways.

Delta has served the U.S. to Japan market for over 70 years, and currently offers seven daily departures from Tokyo with connections to over 150 destinations across the U.S and Latin America. The airline will launch a new service in April between Seattle and Osaka in partnership with Korean Air. Additionally, last year, Delta began partnering with Michelin consulting chef Norio Ueno to create meals for all cabins of service for flights to and from Japan.

Pending government approvals, the new routes would launch with the summer 2020 flying schedule.

Paul

Delta & Virgin to co-locate at Heathrow.

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Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines have announced plans to align their services at London Heathrow airport, as their transatlantic joint venture gets ready for take off.

The two airlines have revealed details of their new combined schedule which will start on 30th March 2014. Among the changes, Delta will move flights on its key business routes (New York JFK, Boston and Seattle) to Heathrow’s Terminal 3, in order to co-locate with Virgin Atlantic from 2nd April. All of Delta Air Lines’ flights are currently based at Terminal 4.

Craig Kreeger, Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, said: “We already co-locate together at New York’s JFK airport and moving some of Delta’s key business flights to join Virgin Atlantic at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 will enhance convenience and reduce connection times.

As part of the move, all business class passengers with both carriers will be given access to Virgin’s Clubhouse lounge in Terminal 3.

Delta is to also operate a second daily service between Heathrow and Detroit from 2nd June 2 2014, alongside its recently announced Heathrow-Seattle route, which is due to launch later this month on 30th March.