Flights Direct

Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) will be the first airport in India to start using self-service kiosks. MIAL has signed a new contract with SITA to implement the new technology to the airport over the next five years.

This will make MIAL one of the most modern airports in the world, and make travel from Mumbai easier.

“The agreement has many innovative features which will benefit both airlines and passengers including the first-ever remote deployment of self-service kiosks for an airport in India.

“It will also allow for the first time in India complete integration of the overall airport management system with the check-in platform being used by the airlines,” said Francesco Violante SITA CEO.

The self-service check-in kiosks will have the potential to handle all airlines operating from the international terminal at MIAL.

Brussels Airport has decided to build a new terminal dedicated to operating low-cost airlines’ flights. To accommodate the new airlines, the airport will open an old part of the passenger terminal which will be modularly extended.

The new terminal means more cheap flights to Brussels from many European destinations. At first the low-cost terminal will be able to handle six aircrafts at a time, but will later expand its capacity to 15.

“Low Cost is the fastest-growing segment in intra-European air traffic. It is expected that by 2015 low cost will account for half of the traffic within Europe.

“Low-cost carriers are increasingly opting for large international airports, on the condition that they can use facilities tailored to their specific needs.

“Today three percent of the flights to and from Brussels Airport are operated by low-cost carriers, whereas the low-cost share at comparable large European airports is over 10 percent.” says Wilfried Van Assche, CEO of Brussels Airport.

The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport will impose a 45 minute deadline before the flight to check in. This is despite the fact that the terminal is equipped with state-of-the-art security and luggage handling systems.

This deadline is applied to all passengers. British Airways, who operates from Terminal 5, promises check-in will be done in five minutes and security checks won’t take more than ten minutes.

But to insure all passengers can make it to the departure gate in time, the check-in will be closed 45 minutes before flight departure.

British Airways will start a new service for business-class passengers only. Flights will run from London City airport to New York. It’s a part of BA’s nine month plan, and flights are due to start next year.

BA has bought an Airbus A318 for the service, and the plane will be equipped with 31 business class seats with lie down beds.

“This niche service will fly passengers between the heart of the two largest financial centres in the world,” said Robin Hayes, BA executive vice president of the Americas, in a statement.

“London City airport is located minutes away from some of our key corporate customers and is in one of the fastest growing areas of the British capital.”

Budget airline Ryanair has announced a raise in the charges for checking-in luggage and using check-in desks at airports.

For all new bookings, passengers have to pay £6 for checked bags, up from £5 per bag. And the use of the check-in desk now costs £3 instead of £2.

Ryanair’s Peter Sherrard says: “These will not be the last increases in Ryanair’s checked in baggage or airport check in fees.” He says Ryanair will increase its charges until half of its passengers use the online check-in service, and only take hand luggage onboard their planes.

If more people use the airport services, Ryanair can reduce the number of check-in desks and staff, and so continue to offer low fares, Mr Sherrard explains.

Leeds Bradford International Airport starts its first direct flights to Pakistan on February 7. Shaheen Air International’s twice a week service to Islamabad is the first direct service from Yorkshire to Pakistan.

Chief executive at Leeds Bradford International Airport, John Parkin, says: “Whether it’s for business or pleasure we are sure that this service will be extremely popular, and we also look forward to welcoming passengers from Pakistan to Yorkshire.”

So far flights to Islamabad have been available from Birmingham, Heathrow, Stansted and Manchester airports.

Over half of travellers say the worst thing about travelling abroad is the slow processes at airports. The slow processes include check-in and security queues and luggage collection.

The 1,000 people surveyed said the biggest improvements to airports would be;
Quicker check-in facilities, 63%
Quicker queues in security, 54%
Being able to escape the crowds in an airline lounge, 36%

One third would welcome a larger baggage allowance, and 20% say they stress about the possibility of lost luggage. The biggest worry for air travellers is flight delays. If airports were able to cut the waiting times, customer satisfaction would clearly go up.

The survey was conducted by add-ons company Holiday Extras on different UK airports.