Heathrow Airport Blog

New iPhone app to streamline check-in

2010-08-23T16:13:55Z

As smartphones continue their march towards becoming very much the norm for mobile phone users, BA has decided to try to keep up to date with technology by launching an app that allows customers to check in and confirm their seat on the plane.

At present, the app is only available to members of BA’s ‘Executive Club’ (which is free to join), and is only applicable to those travelling between London Heathrow and Edinburgh. However, BA plan to make the app available for use on all domestic flights by the end of August, and are eventually looking to expand the app for use on all its flights.

Chris Davies, head of digital marketing at BA, stated that “the Mobile Boarding Pass feature for Executive Club iPhone users will be especially welcome for those customers unable to print off their own boarding cards when returning from overseas”, continuing to suggest that the focus for BA is “all about improving the customer experience. We’re committed to putting our customers in charge, making the British Airways travel experience even easier.”

With the app free for those who join the ‘Executive Club’ and available on iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries, it is highly likely that it could soon be the normal way of checking in, especially as passengers look to avoid delays and having to carry around mountains of paperwork just to check in for flights.

Although the app is currently available only at BA, should it prove successful it is likely that other airlines will join BA in offering the technology, with easyJet already announcing plans to launch a mobile platform commerce site to capitalise on the increase in smartphone usage.

BAA strike averted as new pay offer made

2010-08-19T11:49:04Z

It has been a bad year for holidaymakers, with the chaos caused by heavy snow, the Icelandic volcanic ash crisis, strikes by BA and tour operators such as Goldtrail and Sun4U going out of business, leaving thousands stranded abroad and others disappointed that they would not be going on holiday.

More misery was predicted for those flying over the August Bank Holiday weekend from Heathrow, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Southampton and Aberdeen as BAA staff threatened to strike over pay. It was therefore a relief for many when the strike was called off on Monday after an improved pay offer was made and Unite, the union involved, said it would recommend that members accept.

BAA had previously offered a 1% pay rise with the promise of another 0.5% if the union agreed to changes in sick-pay conditions. Staff were unimpressed and voted three to one to strike, with 50% of Unite members voting in the ballot.

The new offer is for a 2% pay rise with the promise of at least another £500 lump sum depending on how BAA does with its earnings targets. If it meets them, the lump sum will be increased to £700 and if it exceeds them by 10% the lump sum payable will be £900.

BAA has stated that it needs to keep costs down after such a disastrous year for the industry. Unite, on the other hand, has argued that the industry is coming out of a recession and that it expects the BAA offer to “set the standard”.

British Airways punctuality praised

2010-08-13T14:21:37Z

Following a year to forget for British Airways, with strikes, volcanic ash clouds and the recession costing the company hundreds of millions of pounds, the beleaguered airline has received a boost after it was named the most punctual airline at Gatwick Airport.

Statistics released reveal that 87% of all BA’s short haul flights left on time, with only 1% less of its long haul flights also leaving on time.

Speaking about the success, Alan Peever, British Airways general manager at Gatwick, said: “We recognise that time is important and that regular punctuality is a key factor when customers choose which airline to fly with. I would like to thank everyone for a real team effort.”

As well as discussing the performance of BA, Peever also gave an insight into BA customers' destination preferences, announcing that customers have been eager to enjoy the company’s cheap deals to Florida. As well as Florida, BA customers have also been looking to the Maldives as well as the Dominican Republic as Brits look to enjoy a summer break.

After recent reports suggested that one of its cheaper rivals, Easyjet, had to increase their expenditure by hiring more staff after statistics showed that the month of June saw only 48% of their international flights depart on time from Gatwick, BA will be hoping that customers choose reliability over cost as it continues to look to improve its financial performance.

If BA can continue to deliver its current levels of performance and does all it can to cut expenditure, the airline should be set for happier times.

'No compelling case' for Heathrow rail

2010-08-05T13:25:11Z

There will be no high-speed rail link between Heathrow Airport and the rest of the country, according to Tory transport peer, Lord Mawhinney, until the billion-pound scheme is extended to the north of England.

Mawhinney, who is a former MP, claims that the cost of extending the London-Birmingham route to Heathrow would not benefit the economy; rather, it would cost between £2-4bn at a time when the success of the high-speed rail project is not assured.

The news will come as a huge disappointment to airport bosses, who have already had their hopes of a third runway dashed by the Conservatives.

High-speed rail between Heathrow and the Midlands could have eased congestion at the London hub, and benefitted airports with spare aeroplane slots, such as Birmingham, Manchester, and East Midlands.

Lord Mawhinney claims that the rail infrastructure in the ‘spine’ of the UK, running from Edinburgh to London, needs to be improved. Consequently, the MP claims, the number of people wanting to travel from Heathrow would increase, justifying a high-speed station at the London airport.

“A direct high-speed link to Heathrow will only be in prospect after the network has been extended to Manchester and Leeds, at least,” Mawhinney explained. “Over time there will be greater demand for access to Heathrow, making a direct link more viable.”

Government agents are currently buying up properties in the ‘blight corridor’ between the capital and Birmingham. The houses, which could be demolished when high-speed track is laid, are in the towns of Amersham, Wendover, and Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.

The scheme echoes a recently cancelled project by the British Airports Authority (BAA). The BAA forked out millions of pounds to buy homes around Stansted and Heathrow, to save homeowners from the devastated housing market.

Airports threatened with closure after stike ballot called

2010-07-28T12:36:09Z

Major UK airports including Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh have been threatened with closure as a pay dispute between BAA and Unite escalated after Unite called for a strike ballot of its 6,185 staff.

Following a pay freeze last year, BAA staff had hoped to receive a generous pay rise this year. However, key workers, including fire-fighters, security guards and engineers working for BAA, will start voting on what the union has called a "paltry" pay offer of 1%, with a further 0.5% conditional on changes to the sickness agreement.

Following a long running dispute between Unite and BA, this news comes as a further blow to travellers, with any industrial action looking likely to be held during the busy bank holiday weekend.

Despite Unite’s rejection of the offer, BAA maintain that they believe the offer is “reasonable” given the current difficulties facing the industry. In a year that has seen BAA come under severe pressure following the consequences of the recession and the Icelandic volcanic ash clouds, some travellers may feel that the current threat of industrial action is untimely to say the least.

As both sides appear deadlocked, the UK government has attempted to influence proceedings, with Transport Minister, Philip Hammond, stating that: “We have recently seen the disruption industrial action can cause at our airports, and another strike now is the last thing passengers need. I strongly urge both sides to find a resolution to this dispute so that passengers can enjoy their summer holidays free from the stress and concern that a major strike would bring.”

As the threat of strikes looms, it is all too clear that the biggest loser of the current dispute will be those looking to use BAA airports to take a well-deserved summer break.

BAA housing market ruined by expansion

2010-07-23T14:50:01Z

The British Airports Authority (BAA) has pulled out of the housing market that it created around two London airports in October last year. The aviation giant had been buying up properties around Heathrow and Stansted, to help locals who had struggled to sell their homes in the light of proposed expansions at the two hubs.

Of course, when the coalition government placed a ban on expansions at Gatwick and Stansted, and axed Heathrow’s controversial third runway, the BAA no longer had a use for the land beneath the villages of Sipson and Harmondsworth and pulled the plug on its budding estate agent career.

The BAA was described as a ‘hassle-free’ and ‘generous’ buyer, often paying up to three times the established value of residents’ homes. Londoner, Andy Hood, managed to sell his family house for £2m, despite its £500,000 price tag. The BAA claims that 57 houses were snatched up as part of the scheme.

Stansted Airport, which aborted its house-buying initiative in December 2009, bought 74 homes in the area that would have been destroyed, had any runway expansions gone ahead. The airport also purchased 130 ‘noise-blighted’ homes that had proved difficult or impossible to sell on the conventional housing market.

The villages around Stansted and Heathrow are in a well-known black hole in the housing market, in which the value of properties close to the airports is significantly lower than those in the surrounding area.

Estate agents in Sipson noted that 83 people had tried to sell their homes before the BAA closed the scheme on 22 June. The aviation firm has not abandoned those who chose to stay in noise-blighted areas, however: free sound insulation is available to householders, and the firm will give a small relocation grant to those who choose to sell up in the future.