The 50 millionth customer at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 has been welcomed by British Airways.

The terminal, which has good links to central London and offers a number of airport transfers to others such Stansted and Luton airport, is now in its third year of operations.

The 50 millionth customer at Heathrow's Terminal 5 has been welcomed by British Airways.

After a difficult start when it initially opened, Terminal 5 has now become an acclaimed facility by travellers across the globe. 

And further improvements are expected to be made to give travellers at the best experience possible at the world’s most congested international airport.

Since Terminal 5 was opened, punctuality and customer service have both reached record levels.

British Airways has improved on time departures at Heathrow to around 80% per month since completing the move to the terminal.

Previously, when the airline was split between Terminal 1 and 4, punctuality was around the 50% mark.

Andy Lord, British Airways director of operations, said: “Terminal 5 ‘C’ will make a real difference when it is fully operational next summer and will mean that more than 95% of our services will be served by an ‘air bridge’. 

“That’s an extra three million customers each year who won’t have to use a bus to get to or from their aircraft. “

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EasyJet is set to launch an additional flight to Belfast City Airport from Luton, which will offer UK travellers better access to Northern Ireland.

When easyJet’s winter season begins at the end of October, passengers will be able to choose from three daily services on the route. In January, the airline switched from running flights to Belfast International Airport from Luton to Belfast City.

Travellers for Northern Ireland can benefit from the increased EasyJet service between Luton and Belfast City Airport

People living in the capital wanting to get out to Luton in an affordable and straightforward manner can take advantage of the London to Luton easyBus service, which runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It costs from £2 single and from £4 return.

Other airport transfers easyBus offers are from London to Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow.

The business community in particular has shown strong support for the easyJet service to Northern Ireland, the carrier’s marketing manager Trevor Spinks said.

He added: “With two daily flights we estimated that we would have 180,000 passengers a year on the route. Now with three flights, we believe that the figure will rise to 270,000.”

Katy Best, business development director at Belfast City, said: “We have been recording record-breaking growth in passenger numbers lately and we look forward to welcoming additional passengers through our terminal with the introduction of the third flight to Luton.”

There will still be four daily easyJet flights from both Gatwick and Stansted airports to Belfast International.

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Unite has agreed to postpone a strike ballot in its bitter cabin crew dispute with British Airways (BA), but said there was “nil” chance it would recommend the offer to its members.

The Unite union’s joint leader Tony Woodley said any deal was “uncertain” because BA had failed to reinstate staff travel arrangements, including the chance to buy discounted flights, to crew who joined strike action in March and May.

However, BA’s offer includes two years of guaranteed rises in basic salary from February 2011, and an airline spokesman said it welcomed Unite’s decision to postpone a vote on the strike.

A spokesman for the airline, which operates flights from Luton Airport, said: “We believe our offer is fair and reasonable and provides a genuine opportunity to end this dispute.”

Unite said there was "nil" chance of recommending BA's offer to its members

Mr Woodley said it would be “inexplicable” not to put the offer to its members, but added: “Failure by BA to restore travel in full means the possibility of a recommendation is nil and makes acceptance of the offer uncertain.”

The union has staged 22 days of strike action since March, costing BA around £150 million, and it was due to hold a strike ballot starting next Tuesday unless there was a breakthrough.

A top-up payment to guarantee existing crew will not lose out on route allowances when newly recruited crew begin flying in the autumn is included in BA’s new offer.

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BAA, a Spanish-owned firm which operates several key airports in the UK, has announced a slightly reduced profits forecast for this year.

Its new earnings prediction for 2010 is £10 million lower than previously reported at £946 million, based on an expected 85.2 million passengers using BAA airports such as London’s Heathrow and Stansted.

BAA reduces profits forecast despite more passengers and more money spent in airports

BAA blamed the reduced forecast on the cloud of volcano ash, bad weather and the British Airways workers’ dispute, saying the combined financial impact of these factors would total £40 million. 

However, BAA did report overall, higher-than-expected passenger numbers and that travellers were spending more money in airport shops, as well as the firm having lower operating costs. 

Meanwhile BAA said in a separate statement that its original £5.1 billion investment target for Heathrow is still on. 

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Gatwick Airport is to be modernised as part of a £1 billion revamp over the next two years, the new owners announced.

Global Infrastructure Partners said the appearance of the London airport will be improved and a new £35 million terminal shuttle service will open next month.

Gatwick's North Terminal is to expand as part of £1 billion plans to revamp the airport

Furthermore, the redevelopment aims to make travelling easier for passengers, with a multimillion-pound expansion to North Terminal and more self-service facilities.

Part of the revamp will also see the airport drop London from its name. After 52 years, the airport will be simply named Gatwick, losing its BAA London Gatwick title.

Chief executive Stewart Wingate said the airport is well established to be known as Gatwick and the name font is also to undergo a transformation.

He said: “We think everyone knows it’s a London airport. Why shouldn’t we be proud of the Gatwick name, it is a very well-known name.

 “We have done the logo in the form of a signature because we want the airport to feel very personal and that we absolutely care about passengers having a good time going through the airport.”

The airport hopes to increase its passenger numbers from 33 million to 40 million during the next eight years.

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Budget airline easyJet has praised the coalition Government after plans to replace the air passenger duty (APD) airport departure tax with a per-plane tariff were announced in the emergency Budget. 

A rise in APD announced by the previous administration and pencilled in for November 2010 is likely to still go ahead, leading easyJet, which flies from Luton Airport and Stansted, to warn that passengers would still see cost increases for some routes.

Andy Harrison, chief executive of budget airline easyJet, said: “Four out of five British travellers would be better off under a per plane tax as private jets, cargo aircraft and travellers changing planes in Heathrow will start paying their fair share.

easyJet praises Government plans to replace the air passenger duty (APD) airport departure tax

“We applaud the Government’s intention to end this daft poll tax on passengers.”

Ed Anderson, chairman of the Airport Operators Association, said: “We remain concerned that the Government still intends introducing a per-plane duty but are pleased that they are willing to consult the industry first. We will work with the Government to ensure that the impact of a per-plane duty on the viability of routes and regional connectivity will be minimised.”

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Thomas Cook Airlines has finished bottom of a Which? Holiday magazine survey on customer satisfaction, it has been revealed.

The carrier was voted bottom of an 18-airline satisfaction rundown for short-haul flights. Thomas Cook only scored 37 points in a survey of 5,745 Which? members about their most recent short-haul journey.

Airlines have been rated in a survey measuring customer satisfaction

Switzerland airline Swiss (72) and Aer Lingus (71) topped the table for short-haul journeys. Ryanair, which counts Luton airport among its base, also finished towards the bottom of the table.

Air New Zealand (86) claimed top honour in the long-flight journey satisfaction list. The highest-placed UK airline among long-haul passengers was Virgin Atlantic (67), which operates out of Stansted among other UK airports, in seventh place. British Airways (58) was 11th and First Choice (51) was 14th.

South African Airways came bottom of the long-haul chart with a score of 37 after 2,987 Which? members were questioned over their latest experience.

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A new study has underlined the importance of a stress-free journey to the airport, as few of us will manage to relax once on board the plane.

Holidays are supposed to be a time to kick back and recharge the batteries but, after the calm of the airport transfer, a study has revealed noisy passengers are the biggest annoyance once in the air.

Noisy travellers, often made up of boisterous stag and hen parties and 18-30 package groups, were found to cause a massive 75% of irritation on planes.

Among other noise frustrations uncovered by flight comparison website Fly.com, were crying babies, talking loudly, snoring and whistling.

Tougher measures could be imposed on rowdy groups, but crying babies, although noisy, are likely to be more happily tolerated. Nevertheless, they were singled out by one in four of us as the greatest in-flight frustration, with family-only areas suggested to contain noise and ease parents’ embarrassment.

Talking loudly was identified as the most annoying habit by 18% of travellers and snoring was sniffed at by 11%.  A significant minority of 7% blamed whistling passengers for spoiling their in-flight peace and quiet. 

The top non-noise nuisance was smelly food, while canoodling couples also increased passengers’ angst.

Kicking the seat in front, body odour and large passengers were also singled out, along with chatty travellers who insist on sharing their life stories in-flight.

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Dita Von Teese has given the Virgin Atlantic stewardesses a run for their money during a celebration of the airline’s 10-year transatlantic anniversary in Las Vegas.

The burlesque star frolicked with owner Sir Richard Branson in front of a specially named version of the siren that adorns every Virgin Atlantic plane after taking off from London Gatwick earlier in the day.

Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese helps Sir Richard Branson celebrate 10 years of flights from London to Las Vegas

The showgirl dazzled photographers – and Sir Richard – in a red corset, trademark fishnet stockings and a pair of sky-high heels that she refused to remove in order to emulate the bespoke livery designed to mark 10 years of the company flying from London airports to Las Vegas.

Sir Richard looked every inch the playboy airline owner, sporting a classic American blue jeans and white shirt combination and a pair of Elvis-style sunglasses as he posed for the cameras at McCarran International Airport with Von Teese, even hoisting her on to his shoulders and holding her in his arms as she lay draped in a Union Jack flag.

Tweeting before the appearance, Dita, the former wife of rock star Marilyn Manson, wrote: ‘Headed out to Las Vegas today…Sir Richard is in charge, so I’m sure it’s going to be fun. Stay tuned!’

Virgin Atlantic launched its London to Las Vegas service in June 2000 and has since flown two million passengers in search of no-holds barred decadence to the Sin City.

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Holidaymakers looking to enjoy the lakes, forests, parks and wilderness areas of the US state of Minnesota will be able to fly there from London Stansted Airport.

A summer service has been launched by Sun Country Airlines to the state in the Midwestern United States from the Essex airport.

Sun Country Airlines will run a flight from Stansted to Minnesota in the US

People who want to take the flight and who live in London will be able to get from the capital to Stansted with the London Stansted Airport easyBus, which takes one hour and 15 minutes. The services run throughout the day and night.

Information on the Essex airport is available at the Stansted Airport Guide. The airport is about 38 miles north-east of central London and is a hub for a number of major European low cost carriers such as easyJet.

Minnesota is one of North America’s premier tourist destinations, attracting visitors with tax-free shopping and sites such as Nickelodeon Universe and Underwater Adventures Amusement Park.

The airline has teamed up with Mall of America to offer the travel packages.

“Since announcing the start of this new service back in March, Sun Country has had great interest from UK travellers keen to take advantage of its travel packages to this part of the USA,” said Stansted Airport’s commercial and development director, Nick Barton. 

Sun’s president and chief executive, Stan Gadek, who was on the inaugural flight, said: “Stansted is one of the best connected airports in Europe, and our passengers from the USA will not only take advantage of its proximity to London and the East of England, but also the convenient flight connections across Europe, especially those operated by low-cost airlines easyJet and Ryanair.   

“Likewise, we’re looking forward to welcoming many British travellers onto Sun Country Airlines this summer.”

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