Category Archives: Various

Airports, Asia, In the News, Various

2008 Top 10 Airport News

I am sure you agree that 2008 has been a very difficult eventful year. This also holds also true for the aviation industry as our selection of the top 10 news stories about airports shows:

10. London Stansted blockade
London Stansted Airport
Early December environmental activists have stopped flights at London’s Stansted airport (IATA: STN) after breaking through to the runway, raising security concerns at Britain’s third-busiest airport. The protests against a further expansion of the airport caused a serious knock-on effect on the airport’s flight operations causing over 50 flights to be cancelled.

9. Opening of Beijing airport Terminal 3
Beijing Airport Terminal 3
On March 26, Beijing airport (IATA: PEK) opened its new Terminal 3, designed by Sir Norman Foster, after four years of construction. It is the world’s largest airport building, covering more than a million square meters, designed to accommodate an estimated 50 million passengers a year by 2020.

8. Closure of Berlin’s iconic Tempelhof airport
Berlin's Tempelhof Airport shut for good
Open one, close one; on the October 30, Berlin’s iconic Tempelhof airport closed down for good. Originally opened in 1923, the later built airport halls and neighbouring buildings, intended to become the gateway to Europe and a symbol of Hitler’s “world capital” Germania. Read our full coverage here.

7. Kalitta Air crash at Brussels airport
Brussels Airport Cargo Plane Crash
On Sunday, 25 May a Boeing 747 cargo plane overshot the runway at Brussels Zaventem airport (IATA: BRU) and crashed resulting the aircraft to break into 2 parts. The spectacular picture made the news everywhere.

6. Frightening landing at Hamburg’s airport

A low pressure system named “Emma” nearly caused a disaster at Hamburg airport (IATA: HAM) in March. The Lufthansa A320 plane struggled to make the runway through 90 kilometre-per-hour crosswinds resulting in the 39 year old pilots last minute go-around procedure and a safe second attempt. The frightening approach was caught on camera and is an extraordinary piece which will now probably be used all over the world in pilot training classrooms.

5. Hong Kong wins ‘Airport of the Year’ award
Hong Kong International Airport
In July Hong Kong International airport (IATA: HKG) was named best Airport in the world, in the passenger survey results released by Skytrax. Despite being “only” rated in 5th place in the most-timely airport survey, Hong Kong received the prestigious award after Skytrax collected 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers over a 10-month time period. Read our congratulating article here.

4. Spanair crash at Madrid airport
Madrid Airport Spanair crash
A combination of basic pilot error and an electrical failure was the possible cause of the crash of a Spanair plane at Madrid’s Barajas airport (IATA: MAD) on 20 August that killed 154 people. The airport was closed for several hours after the accident.

3. Radar malfunction at Dublin airport
Dublin\'s airport problem with its radar system
In the midst of the summer holiday season, Dublin airport (IATA: DUB) made the news with its malfunctioning radar system which meant that controllers lost some functionality on their screens meaning they were unable to see the labels attached to ‘blips’ that signify individual aircraft. The problem resulted in massive delays and many cancellations over several days.

2. Bangkok blockade
Bangkok airport blockade
Protesters supporting the People’s Alliance for Democracy stormed Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport (IATA: BKK) in late November, occupying the departure lounge and blocking all exits. With that 3,000 people were stranded within the airport and another 350,000 were stranded within Thailand. Read our interview with an affected traveller.

1. Chaos at London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5
London Heathrow Terminal 5
In March BAA, the company that owns Heathrow airport, opened its newest addition of what should have been a proud event for London’s most criticised airport. Instead, the opening resulted in a PR disaster with BAA losing thousands of bags over several months. The event then became one of the triggers leading to the demands of breaking up BAA’s monopolistic ownership of airports in the UK.

[Pictures from Flickr – some rights are reserved: London Stansted, Beijing, Berlin Tempelhof, Brussels airport, Hong Kong, Madrid, Dublin, Bangkok, London Heathrow

Airports, Americas, Oceania, Various

Airport food: 3 continents, 3 airports, 3 great choices

You know the feeling, it’s evening, you rushed to the airport after a long day at work and haven’t had time to eat. You then find out your plane is delayed, so that you won’t get your free business economy class dinner anytime soon. What do you do? Well, there is always the crappy sandwich shop close to the gate, right? Wrong!

Luckily today many airports realised people actually value quality food and offer descent alternatives to the ubiquitous fast food chains. Following are three options from three different airports around the globe that cater for the foodie in you:

London Heathrow – Terminal 5: Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food

The unsurprising favourite is “Plane Food“, a fine dining outlet by London’s only 3-Star-Michelin chef, Gordon Ramsay. Lulu from Planet Eye recently wrote

…this is probably the only airport restaurant with which I’ve actually made a reservation. Once you tuck into the foie gras and chicken liver parfait, followed by the Casterbridge rib eye steak, it’s really hard to be satisfied by the chicken or the beef options offered by your flight attendant.

I’ve always been a fan of Gordon’s food and this has to be a must-go for when you have some time on your side (and made a reservation…). In addition Plane Food now also offers a few take-away picnics (£14.95 for the lunch box). Enjoy!


Sydney International Terminal: Wagamama

It has sadly been a while since I have personally been at Sydney airport but one of the safe and tasteful choices is Hong Kong born Alan Yau‘s Australian subsidiary of Wagamama in the international terminal. You will be sitting on shared tables and have the choice of a variety of tasty Asian inspired dishes. Having tasted the Australian, the Dutch and the English Wagamama I must say I found the Aussie version the best – definitely worth a taste when you are in this magnificent city.


Miami International: Chili’s

Well, I’m going to follow a bit of a stereotype here by mentioning a chain restaurant as my choice for the USA’s most Latin airport. Sometimes you just want that uncomplicated, yet tasteful American comfort food. Go to Chili’s which you find in the G area and taste one of their wonderful Baby Back Ribs. They really are delicious!

 

[Picture from Flickr]

Airports, Europe, Reviews, Various

Make good at London Stansted

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On Friday I returned to the airport where I had the initial idea for this blog: London Stansted Airport (IATA: STN). Last time I wasn’t very lucky when my Friday evening flight to Copenhagen was delayed by over an hour and on the way back I went through an even bigger pain (see my very first post).

This time my fate changed for the better. On the way out to Düsseldorf Weeze (IATA: NRN) we were only slightly delayed because of some minor baggage and cargo loading problems. Luckily Ryanair was able to make up the delay and we arrived with the usual punctuality fanfare at the Lower Rhine (Niederrhein) airport.

So I guess, I have to admit that Stansted usually is quite a nice airport. It’s certainly not that close from London (it takes 45 minutes from Liverpool Street station) and it costs a staggering £26 return, but once you are there it’s quite pleasant. The terminal is big and roomy, there are lots of good shops (e.g. Reiss) and plenty of eateries and coffee shops. No wonder is Ryanair eying to purchase this airport once it will be split off from the current owner BAA.

But let’s get to the fun part. This time I decided to play a little game: I wanted to find the best and worst looking, women’s perfume flacon at the large duty free store. Here’s my decision:

The Winner: Valentino – Rock ‘n Rose
Valentino Rock 'n Rose

The Loser: Anna Sui – Dolly Girl
Anna Sui - Dolly Girl
Airport Facts and Ratings

Airport Name London Stansted
Website http://www.stanstedairport.com/
IATA Code STN
Design LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Shopping LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Toilets LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Overall LateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award PointLateDeparture.com Plane Award Point
Chanel No 5 Eau de Parfum, 100ml at the Duty Free Shop £57.70
Bottle of Veuve Cliquot at the Duty Free Shop £28.25 (incl. ice jacket)

 

[Pictures from Flickr: Stansted (some rights reserved), Valentino, Anna Sui]

Airports, Various

Sleeping at the airport: Top 10 Pics

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Airports can be a pain especially when lengthy delays occur, you overdid it the night before or, the nightmare for all of us, the combination of the two. The best in these situations is to behave like an idiot to keep calm, find yourself a comfortable spot and fall asleep. Want to see some examples? Okay, here are our Top-10 pictures of people sleeping at airports:

10. Neatly ligned up
Number 10

9. Awkward position
Number 9

8. Stack ’em up
Number 8
 

7. Double dreaming
Number 7
 

6. Beauty sleep
Number 6
 

5. Vegas, Baby!
Number 5
 

4. Nice spot
Number 4
 

3. Even nicer spot
Number 3
 

2. How many legs?
Number 2
 

1. Sir, sleep, Sir!
Number 1

[All pictures from Flickr – click on the photos to get to the original page – some rights reserved]

Airports, Various

Hong Kong world’s best airport

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Hong Kong International Airport has been named Best Airport in the world, in the passenger survey results released on Monday by Skytrax. Despite being “only” rated in 5th place in the most-timely airport survey, Hong Kong received the prestigious award after Skytrax collected 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers over a 10-month time period. The London based aviation-research company rated the airports in more than 40 categories of product and service quality from check-in to departure, from arrivals to baggage collection – including terminal cleanliness, staff efficiency, staff courtesy, terminal signage, security processing, immigration and customers, walking distances, as well as features like shopping, dining options, internet services.

Second best airport went to last year’s winner, Singapore Changi airport followed by Seoul Incheon. Best European airport was Munich in 5th place and San Francisco took the place for the best ranked US airport but didn’t make it in the top ten. Here’s the that top ten:

  1. Hong Kong
  2. Singapore Changi
  3. Seoul Incheon
  4. Kuala Lumpur KLIA
  5. Munich
  6. Kansai
  7. Copenhagen
  8. Zurich
  9. Helsinki
  10. Cape Town

Note that we already wrote about Zurich and Copenhagen on some delay stories, but both airports rated fairly highly in our own surveys as well.

Also, make sure you check out the full list of the category winners – Brisbane for example received the award for the airport with the friendliest staff. Well, I guess that’s no surprise when you work in a city with one of the best climates and the most leisure attitude…

[Picture from Flickr]

Airports, Europe, Reviews, Various

Crowded house at London Heathrow Terminal 3

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Even in full anticipation of a delayed flight, I left my home well in time for check-in at London Heathrow‘s Terminal 3 – home to Virgin Atlantic. It’s funny how this blog can change your whole expectation (but then this was part of the idea anyway). So, was my flight delayed? Technically yes, but I have to admit, it was a close call. The Boeing 747 left the gates about 20 minutes after the scheduled departure time and took off 11 minutes later. In fact, that’s a very acceptable delay, especially for a 10 hour flight.

So, what was there to do in Terminal 3? Quite a bit: Until the recent opening of Terminal 5, this terminal was probably the best Heathrow had to offer, especially in terms of shopping and amenities. It’s still pretty good, however, the one thing that is striking every single time I get there, is the sheer amount of people in one space. The main area is ridiculously undersized for the amount of people and as a result you will have a tough time finding a seat even during quiet times like this morning.

However, there’s good news as well. Having been in this Terminal a couple times before I already know you can find the usual newspaper, electronics and book shops, a large duty free shop, a Harrod’s outlet, the only Yo! Sushi restaurant in Heathrow, TGI Friday’s, Brasserie Chez Gérard, a handful of Designer shops and four coffee shops. Four coffee shops? Yep. And with that insight, I told myself there must be quite some competition among them, so I took a closer look and compared the prices for a regular sized latte (or in new coffee lingo it would be a “tall” sized drink):

  • Bagel Street, £1.80
  • Eat, £1.90
  • Starbucks, £2.05
  • Caffe Italia, £2.10

If you are looking for a soy milk latte, this changes the game slightly as both Eat and Starbucks charge extra for this luxury health choice (Eat £0.30, Starbucks £0.35) where as the two others don’t.

But if price was equal, which one should you choose? Which coffee is the best? Well, personally I favour Eat for regular coffee and Starbucks for Soya as they have the better soy milk. But in line with my previous post about eating healthy while travelling, I only tasted these two this time. I will update this post when I’m back to taste the other two.

Oh, one more thing: From now on we will add a little price index to our airport short facts where possible. I’ve chosen the two most useful likely products you would find in every duty free around the globe: Chanel No 5 Eau de Parfum and Veuve Clicquot Champagne. Prices will be shown in local currency and US Dollars.

Facts

Airport name: London Heathrow, Terminal 3
Website: http://www.heathrowairport.com/
IATA Code: LHR
Design factor: 2/5
Shopping factor: 3/5
Toilets factor: 3/5
Overall factor: 2/5
Chanel No 5 Eau de Parfum: £57.70 (click to see other currencies)
Bottle of Veuve Clicquot: £28.25

[Picture from Flickr]

Airports, Various

The future: Waiting at Design Airports

Clearly, lengthy delays must be less painful if the surrounding is pleasant. At least this definitly holds true for me at London Heathrow‘s terminal 5 where you’re never further than three meters away from the next shop. So, what will the future of airport design bring? Check out our friends at “Designboom” and their article “Contemporary airport design“. Wouldn’t you want to be late for all your flights in these beautiful buildings?

 

[Via Designboom]

Various

Eating healthy at the airport a myth?

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Think back when you last rushed to the airport dangerously close to the final call of your flight only to find your plane being delayed for an unknown amount of time. Even worse, it’s evening and you haven’t eaten anything since lunch – you were wo looking forward for that sandwich on the plane. What to do now? Of course you could rush to that McDonald’s outlet in terminal 2 and quickly stuff yourself with your usual Quarter Pounder with Cheese and gain 510 calories in a blink of an eye. But we both know that’s not really the most clever choice nor will it satisfy you for the rest of the evening.

So, is there a healthier alternative at the airport? There sure is, as my friends at LifeApps wrote in their blog “Healthy snacks for travellers” you should follow three simple rules:

  1. Eat light
  2. Drink plenty of water
  3. Consume caffeine and alcohol in moderation

I know, you now probably think, well, I knew that already, but can you explain this in a bit more practical way, please? Sure, we can! Life Apps defined it in the following way:

Eat light: this is the heart of this post. By eating light we want to avoid fatty (especially saturated fat) and sugary foods, and empty calories. When it comes to snacks, there ARE healthy alternatives to airport food courts, and I’ll go into some of those alternatives in a moment.

Water: this is hardly a news flash, but it bears repeating: stay hydrated, whether you’re flying internationally or are holed up in your office! It’s especially important when flying, however, as the air being recirculated in aircraft cabins is quite dry. Moreover, caffeine and alcohol can exacerbate this condition, contributing to the risk of dehydration. The general rule is that you should drink ~12 oz. of water for each hour you fly.

Caffeine & alcohol in moderation: as an addicted, er, dedicated coffee drinker, this one’s a bit tough for me. In general, don’t go nuts with the quad espresso’s… a cup or two of caffeinated coffee is OK, just be mindful that coffee is a diuretic and you don’t want to be dehydrated on the road. As for alcohol, my only advice is to be careful when going out to dine with a group of colleagues. The best strategy: drink sparingly before dinner, and you’ll be much more able to be disciplined about what you eat during dinner! Keep “all things in moderation” as your mantra, and you should be just fine.

The blog article then goes on and provides a few very good snack alternatives. My favourite of the lot definitely has to be the Larabar – a very tasty yet nutritiously well balanced snack bar. You find them in the US in abundance yet they are harder to find in the UK (try the Whole Food outlets or selected speciality stores).

So, can you only eat healthy at the airport when you bring your own snacks? Not at all. Most airport eateries feature healthier alternatives as well. At Heathrow for example you find fruit, nuts and lean wraps in most Pret-a-Manger, Eat, Nero and WHSmith. As listed before, check the labels for their nutritious information and select low fat, low sugar and low salt food.

[Via LifeApps]
Picture from Flickr

Various

Star’s Airport Style

 

People Magazine

Talking about Bush I see another great way of spending your time at the airport – watching out for celebrities! Guess how many I have seen so far? NONE. Neither in the plane. Do stars not fly economy or what?!

However, stars have a busy international life thus they need to fly and use airports. People magazine even has a special category called “Stars Airport Style“. Have a look so you recognize Mariah Carey next time you queue in front of her at the Duty Free or in Easyjet’s A-queue (which is as VIP as you can get without paying 15 Euros more for Speedy Boarding 😉 )

So which stars did you meet so far? … wonders Christiane