Plans have been formed to expand passenger numbers at Luton Airport so that millions more travellers will be able to use the hub by 2022.

The operators of the Bedfordshire airport, London Luton Airport Operations Ltd (LLAOL), said it hopes to increase users by up to 15 and 16 million passengers a year as part of their 10-year strategy.

LLAOL said it wants to make Luton “London’s local airport” by developing better transport links to the city. It also promised to “avoid overbuilding capacity, and passing on unnecessary costs to airlines and passengers.”

The new blueprints by Spanish-owned LLAOL include building a new terminal, a larger taxiway, fresh aircraft stands and improving current ones.

These plans rival those put forward by airport-owners Luton Borough Council last month, who wanted to expand the airport from handling 10 million passengers a year to 18 million.

The council said to go ahead with their plans they would have to end LLAOL’s contract before its expiry in 2028.

Current airline operators that fly daily from Luton include Ryanair, easyJet, Monarch and Thomson

Three musicians have been forced to pay £1,340 for extra seats for their instruments on a Ryanair flight to the UK.

musicians were forced to pay for extra seats for their instruments on a Ryanair flight

The trio, who were flying into Stansted to perform at a candle-lit Bach concert, thought they would be able to travel with their instruments as free hand luggage.

But three days before their flight to Stansted Airport, they discovered that each violin case needed its own seat.

According to the Irish airline, the cases exceeded the 55cms by 40cms by 20cms overhead luggage size.

Russian Igor Tsinman, 26, Hungarian-born Agnes Langer, 18, and their tutor Professor Anne Shih travelled from Frankfurt-Hahn airport for the Salle recital last week.

They chose to pay for the extra seats as they feared damaging the three 18th century violins, which are worth up to £800,000 each, in the hold.

A rare Sanctus Serafin belonging to Igor, Agnes’s Testore instrument and Professor Shih’s Guarnerius violin were belted up for the flight to the Uk on Friday.

Copyright © Press Association 2010

Low-cost airline Ryanair will not be allowed to buy the entire Aer Lingus share capital following a decision by EU judges to back the European Commission’s previous refusal.

The European Court of Justice dismissed Ryanair’s legal challenge, and said the ban on the airline was valid.

Judges at the court also rejected a separate action by Aer Lingus, which was seeking a decision to force Ryanair to give up its existing stake in the Irish airline company.

EU judges have backed the European Commission's refusal to allow Ryanair to buy the entire Aer Lingus share capital

Ryanir, which also operates flights from Luton Airport, acquired a 19.16% share of Aer Lingus when it was privatised four years ago.

The tussle between the two companies started shortly afterwards when Ryanair, which runs services out of Stansted Airport, showed an interest in bidding for the entire share capital. 

But the Commission declared the proposed merger illegal under EU competition rules.

Soon afterwards Ryanair launched a public bid for the entire share capital – but the Commission declared the proposed merger illegal under EU competition rules.

Ryanair bought more shares anyway, taking its stake to 29.3% – prompting Aer Lingus to ask the Commission to order Ryanair to sell its shareholding.

The Commission rejected the request on the grounds that it has no power under the EU rules to make such an order against a minority shareholder which does not have a controlling power in Aer Lingus.

The judgment backed the Commission’s decision against allowing a Ryanair takeover, on the grounds that the merger would “significantly impede effective competition as a result of the creation of a dominant position on a number of (air) routes from or to Dublin, Cork and Shannon.”

Copyright © Press Association 2010

Low cost airline Ryanair has announced it is going to slash its 2010/11 winter capacity by around 16%, including at Stansted airport.

The Irish company revealed it will be cutting back its services at London Stansted Airport by 17%.

As a result, it will be handling 1.5 million fewer passengers at the Essex site.

And it revealed it will be cutting flights at most of its other UK bases, except Edinburgh and Leeds Bradford. In London, Ryanair flights also operate out of Luton and Gatwick airports.

Ryanair is to cut back services during the winter

The company said that overall, it will fly two million fewer passengers compared with last year.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said the capacity reduction at UK airports was as a result of the “damaging” Air Passenger Duty airport departure tax.

Ryanair said that it would switch its unneeded London-based aircraft “to other European bases where governments have scrapped tourist taxes and reduced passenger charges, in some case to zero, in order to grow tourism and traffic”.

Mr O’Leary said: “Sadly, UK traffic and tourism continues to collapse while Ryanair continues to grow rapidly in those countries which welcome tourists instead of taxing them.

“Ryanair’s capacity cutbacks show just how much the UK’s tourist tax and (airport operator) BAA’s high airport charges are damaging UK tourism and the British economy generally.”

The Government is looking into scrapping the APD tax with a per-plane tax.

Copyright © Press Association 2010

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.

Copyright © Press Association 2010

Michael O’Leary, boss of the Stansted-based discount airline Ryanair, is set for a personal windfall of almost £17 million after the carrier reported pre-tax profits of £281 million.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, pictured, will make £17m from the results

The chief executive, who owns around 4% of the company, will pocket the money as part of a £422 million dividend for shareholders.

It is believed that a decline in the price of oil helped drive the performance, with an 11% increase in sales of food and drink to £560.7 million also generating improved profits.

The bumper results look unlikely to be passed on to customers, however, with increased baggage charges during July and August set to be implemented regardless.

A statement from the airline, which also runs flights from Luton, said it was “proud” of the results and, barring any further disruption from Iceland’s volcanic ash cloud, expected the trend to continue.

Ryanair opened 280 new routes serving a variety of airports last year.

Copyright © Press Association 2010

easyJet have welcomed the prospect of lower passenger duty which may be on the cards since the formation of the new coalition government in Britain.

The decisions have also been made to introduce a new tax on planes which would most likely affect older, less efficient airline brands that are running planes that are half-full of passengers. easyJet run younger planes with load factors well over 85%, welcome the revised approach.

easyJet

The chief executive of easyJet, Andy Harrison said,  ”We look forward to working with the new secretary of state for transport. The two Government parties have made a firm coalition agreement to reform the daft Air Passenger Duty, which taxes full planes but not empty ones. It’s now time to act and make it a fairer and greener tax without increasing the tax burden on the flying public.”

In other recent news reported the 3rd runway at Heathrow will be scrapped by the new government and plans to introduce new capacity at London Gatwick and London Stansted will also be put on hold.

easyJet is also expecting to transport more than 60% passengers this year than British Airways.