The Airport Operator BAA has finally sealed the deal to sell LGW, to GIP, who own the majority of LCY. The £1.51 billion purchase fee is significantly less than the asking price however. The sale still remains subject to European Union merger regulation clearance and is due to be completed by the end of the year. BAA have said that the proceeds will be invested in its other UK airports, as well as helping to clear part of its huge debts.
 
[textarea]Gatwick parking scam exposed

Trading standards officers have exposed a Gatwick parking scam, the Horley Life reports. West Sussex County Council Trading Standards Service took action after receiving complaints about a company that offered secure parking for airport users, then parked cars on the street.

A company called 'Gatwick Secure Parking' operated a website that offered: ‘Secure parking, six foot high fencing, and lockable gates.’ However, after receiving consumer complaints, trading standards officers wrote to the website operator, Resat Gundogdu, a restaurateur whose premises are in Peterhouse Parade, Pound Hill, Crawley, about the claims being made on the website.

When the officers saw the claims were still being made, they made a ‘test purchase’ with a car of their own. Over three days in January, the car remained in the same position with the same mileage reading outside the general parking area at Peterhouse Parade.

At Crawley Magistrates Court on November 16, Mr Gundogdu was sentenced to 140 hours community service after pleading guilty to an offence under the fraud in my opinion Act 2006. He was also ordered to pay the Trading Standards Service's costs of £836.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]New Gatwick owner slammed over snow closures

The new owner of Gatwick Airport has been criticised for its handling of the facility after it was twice closed for long periods due to snow and freezing temperatures this month. Airlines have questioned why nearby Heathrow Airport was able to stay open - with a lessened capacity - throughout the recent freeze.

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which bought Gatwick for £1.5 billion last month, said that during the heaviest day of snow about 438 flights were cancelled. Some airlines have questioned why it reportedly only has two snow ploughs, when other similar sized airports in Europe have many more.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Korean pension fund buys Gatwick stake

South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), the world's fifth biggest pension fund, has paid £100 million for a 12 percent stake in Gatwick Airport. Chairman Jun Kwang-Woo said Britain was an attractive place for investors because of the stable and reliable regulatory structure for privately-owned infrastructure.

Airports operator BAA sold Gatwick late last year to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a fund controlled by Credit Suisse and General Electric, for £1.51 billion - although it is not clear how much of the purchase price was funded with debt and how much with equity, so a simple '£100 million is less than 12 percent of £1.51 billion' is not possible. At the time GIP said that it would look to 'securitise' the investment, as it did with London City Airport.

NPS and GIP will formally sign the deal made next week, an NPS official said today.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]BAA force sign change at Gatwick

Gatwick Airport's new owner is having to pay around £1.5 million to change the long-established yellow-and-black signage around the terminal. Flightglobal.com reports that Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is being forced to change or replace the signs because former owner BAA holds copyright over the shade of yellow and the style of black lettering !

While accepting that there is ‘an intellectual property issue pertaining to the colour and typeface’, a Gatwick spokesman says the issue was known when GIP paid Spanish-owned BAA £1.5 billion for the airport in late 2009. The necessity of changing the 'wayfinding signage' and other notices gives Gatwick an opportunity to differentiate itself from Heathrow and Stansted airports', he added.

A Gatwick spokesman said: ’Even if copyright issues had not arisen, I think under the new ownership we'd have been doing this anyway.’ In the meantime, he revealled: ‘In recent months, where we've needed to put up new signs we've used a slightly different shade of yellow and typeface' !

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick appoint new finance director

Gatwick Airport has strengthened its management team with the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer, Nick Dunn. He has more than ten years experience in investment banking, with the majority of that time specialising in the transportation sector.

Mr Dunn joins from Anglo American PLC where he was General Manager of Corporate Finance and managed the group's investment appraisal and project governance processes for major capital projects. New Gatwick owners GIP plan to invest up to £1 billion on improving and modernising the airport's facilities.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Historic Iraqi flight plane impounded !

The first flight from Baghdad to London in 20 years has ended in farce, with the plane impounded at Gatwick Airport after the Government of Kuwait went to the High Court demanding £780 million for planes stolen by Saddam Hussein ! A two decade lawsuit, the UK's longest running legal dispute, over the theft of 10 planes owned by Kuwait at the time of the 1990 invasion by Iraq resulted in the detention of the aircraft and the confiscation of the passport of Iraqi Airways' chief executive Kifah Hassan who had flown in on the plane.

Lawyers for Kuwait Airlines said that Mr Hassan would be required to detail the assets of the state run airline before the London courts. Chris Gooding of Fasken Martineau solicitors, acting for Kuwait Airways, said the airline's patience ‘has run out’ after a lengthy legal battle ending up in the High Court. He added: ‘To fly into this jurisdiction where they owe $1.2 billion (£780 million) was innocent at best and arrogant at worst’

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick seeks help from regular travellers

Gatwick Airport wants regular flyers to join part of an advisory group to help improve the experience for travellers using the hub. GATCOM’s Passenger Advisory Group (PAG) has 15 members that attend the airport for three days every three months to assess the facilities and make recommendations for improvements.

The airport has announced that it is looking for two new representatives who travel regularly or are involved in the aviation or the customer service industry, particularly those who have mobility problems. Peter Hall, chairman of PAG, said: ‘Our members help shape all kinds of projects at the airport such as the new shuttle between terminals, new plans for check-in areas, facilities for passengers with reduced mobility, wayfinding signage and the development of the airport's website.’

Anyone wishing to get involved in the project must register their interest by June 21, with applications due by June 28. For more information visit http://www.ukaccs.info/gatwick/index.html.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Work starts on Gatwick flood defence

Construction work has started on a £15m flood defence scheme in West Sussex to protect Crawley and Gatwick Airport. In addition to the airport, ore than 1,300 homes and businesses will see their flood risk significantly reduced, the Environment Agency said.

The Upper Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme will increase storage capacity for floodwater by raising the level of the dam at Tilgate Lake. New flood storage areas have also been proposed at three river sites. During and after heavy rain, the storage areas will hold large amounts of water which will slowly be released back into the rivers. The scheme is scheduled to be completed by 2013.

The Agency said floods had hit the area several times recently, with serious floods in 1968 and 2000. A spokesman said: ‘As has already been seen in this area, flooding is very destructive and could force the closure of Gatwick Airport and major disruption to the whole region. It is vital we do everything we can to reduce the impacts where and when we can.’

Stewart Wingate, Gatwick Airport chief executive, said: ‘In 2000, the A23 under the airport's South Terminal was closed because of torrential rain. The scheme will dramatically reduce the risk of this happening again.’

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick Airport unveils new identity as part of £1bn revamp

Gatwick Airport is rolling out a new brand identity and new slogan ‘Your London Airport’, as part of a £1bn revamp of the airport by new owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The company, which acquired Gatwick from BAA in December 2009, has unveiled a new blue and white visual identity, created by branding agency Lewis Moberly for the airport, to differentiate it from rival Heathrow.

Andrew McCallum, director of communications and external affairs at Gatwick, said the identity would position Gatwick as a ‘challenger brand’ to BAA, which owns Heathrow and Stansted airports. He said: ‘BAA is the establishment brand, so we want Gatwick to be a friendlier, more human airport throughout the customer journey.’ An ad campaign will be launched tomorrow with the strapline: 'Your London airport – Gatwick’.

The two-year, £1bn investment programme will focus on its 'drive to provide the best possible service, delivering new, modern facilities at every step of the journey through Gatwick'. It will see the launch of the revamped inter-terminal shuttle and an extension of its North Terminal. With its new 'fast track' security system, the airport is vowing to pass all travellers through airport security within five minutes, while new retailers such as Superdry, Hugo Boss and Jo Malone have opened outlets at the airport.

Stewart Wingate, Gatwick chief executive, said: ‘Today is an important milestone as we compete to make Gatwick London's airport of choice for passengers and airlines. Gatwick has long been recognised as London's favourite airport, a more friendly and enjoyable place to travel. It's by building on these qualities and investing in new facilities that Gatwick will go from strength to strength.’

'Looking ahead, the £1 billion investment will see improvements to almost every part of the airport, including the South Terminal departure lounge, entrance forecourts, immigration hall, baggage systems and the North Terminal Interchange.'

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Over 20% of Gatwick baggage scales inaccurate

Millions of passengers travelling through Gatwick Airport could have been falsely charged for excess baggage because the weighing scales were faulty, the Telegraph reports an official investigation has found. Trading Standards Officers checked all 330 baggage weighing scales at the North and South terminals and found 75 were inaccurate. This was no improvement on a similar check done back in 2007.

Of those that were wrong, 39 percent had faults that meant customers could have been overcharged. The most serious problem was many of the scales had a broken ‘zeroising’ button, which meant that the weight of the previous person's luggage would have been added onto the weight of the bag.

Trading Standards Officers asked 200 consumers whether they had been charged for excess baggage and around eight percent said they had, with all of them adding that they have weighed their luggage before arriving at the airport. Bruce Treloar, the lead Trading Standards officer for holidays and travel, pointed out that with 34 million passengers travelling via Gatwick every year, the potential overcharging was enormous. Expedia, the online travel agent, calculated last month that British holidaymakers spent £270 million on overweight bags this year.

The newspaper suggests that the problems with the weighing scales are not confined to Gatwick but occur at all busy airports as they are used so heavily. A Which? Holiday spokesman said: ‘We understand the reasons why airlines charge customers who go over baggage allowances. But, if airlines are going to charge then they have a responsibility to ensure their scales are correct. Excess baggage charges are not small, and can add a significant amount of money to the cost of a holiday.’

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick Airport gets green light for A380 superjumbo

Gatwick Airport has been given permission to start allowing the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380 super-jumbo to operate from the Sussex hub.

The decision will allow both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to operate A380s from Gatwick and comes after the airport spent £43 million in improvement works to accommodate the larger aircraft.

Until now, Heathrow and Manchester had been the only UK airports able to accommodate the superjumbo, which was first flown commercially by Singapore Airlines in October 2007.

The airport's chief executive Stewart Wingate said: 'The Airbus A380 represents the future of long-haul aviation. It's modern, more efficient and uses less fuel per passenger, and we want Gatwick to be at the centre of this exciting new era of long-haul travel.

'We are pouring £1billion into Gatwick to improve the infrastructure, modernise the airport facilities, improve customer service, bolster the rail links and drive competitive rates for airlines to encourage more passengers and airlines to the airport.

'If we can bring the A380 and other large aircraft to Gatwick, passengers will have even more reason to choose to fly to and from our airport and help us on our journey to becoming the London airport of choice.'

Gatwick Airport has seen an increase in long-haul traffic, which requires larger aircraft, as travellers search further afield for their holidays.

Long haul passenger numbers rose 7.1 per cent year-on-year, even though overall passenger numbers at the airport declined 2.6 per cent.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/artic ... z12oYCI9lW[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Boeing Dreamliner flight simulator unveiled at Gatwick

In the run up to the launch of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner next year, the planemaker has launched a state-of-the-art full B787 flight simulator and training facilities at its Gatwick campus.

Launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) is expect to take delivery of the Dreamliner in the first quarter of next year, more than two years late, and has two B787 training facilities at its hub in Tokyo. In the UK, Thomson Airways will be the first airline to have the plane in its fleet, in 2012, followed by Monarch Airlines in 2013, and later by both Virgin Atlantic and BA.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Thomas Cook boss slams Gatwick over snow closures

The boss of holiday company Thomas Cook has criticised Gatwick Airport for shutting down in the snow, the Sun reports. Manny Fontenla-Novoa said the airport was woefully unprepared for the blizzards that forced it to close and that the closure was making the UK a laughing stock.

The tour operator had to put six plane-loads of holidaymakers — 3,000 passengers — on coaches so they could continue with their break. He told The Sun: ‘It's disappointing. I've got people from Sweden and Germany here today and they just laughed at us. Stockholm was something like minus 22 degrees and it was fine. A bit of snow here and everything comes to a standstill. Gatwick has to invest in equipment — this is the second time in a year this has happened now.’

However, David Learmont, editor at Flight Global magazine, told the newspaper that there was not enough bad weather in Britain to justify spending ‘big bucks’ on measures to counter it. The airport said that it has invested £300,000 in equipment to combat snow and ice in the last year. Rival Heathrow spent £500,000, and reamined open.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Airlines oppose landing fee rise by Gatwick Airport

Airlines operating between Guernsey and Gatwick airports are joining forces to oppose an increase in landing fees at the London airport.

Aurigny said the extra £400,000 in costs would see fares on the route increase by £2 from 1 April.

Malcolm Hart, managing director, said Gatwick's action was squeezing out smaller airlines.

The airport said the overall rise of 6% in fees was competitively priced and would only apply during the summer.

Mr Hart said he was joining with Flybe, the Devon-based airline that also operates the route, to fight the increase.

He said: "The charges for small airplanes are rising by 25%, that's why I'm feeling hard done by.

"We believe this huge increase in costs forms the Gatwick Airport strategy of discriminating against smaller aircraft.

"Basically they want their busy runway occupied by the biggest jets they can get, even though industry professionals see no level of demand from operators of these large aircraft to use Gatwick currently."

'No commercial sense'

A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport said: "With demand for air transport set to increase, coupled with a block on runway expansion in the South East, Gatwick must look at how best to make the most efficient use of a single runway."

They said there would be no increase to fees for departing passengers and the aim was to encourage greater all-year round use of the runway.

The spokesperson said extra fees would help to fund the £1bn improvement works programme the airport was currently undertaking.

Mr Hart said: "Unlike other regional airlines such as BMI which is stopping its Heathrow/Glasgow route and Air Southwest which has already ended theirs from Newquay and Plymouth to Gatwick, we will not pull out of Gatwick to save costs.

"As an island we rely heavily on the Gatwick slots for business and leisure, because we are owned by islanders, we can ensure that these vital links to Gatwick are retained, even if flying out of the airport with such a huge increase in costs would otherwise not make commercial sense."

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick shareholders to benefit from debt refinancing

The debt on Gatwick Airport is being refinanced, with the new owners who bought the airport from BAA likely to receive a large refinancing gain. The new debt package will be between £1bn and £1.2bn depending on demand, with £850m used to repay the acquisition debt from November 2009 and the rest - between £150m to £350m - ‘to meet expenses and to pay its shareholders an extraordinary dividend’ according to the debt rating report from Fitch.

In addition the new owners will get much cheaper bank debt, as credit markets have improved since November 2009. It will also get a much longer term debt via a bond issue. Gatwick is raising £620m from a 4 year bank loan and between £400m to £600m via 15 and 25 year bonds which are expected to be rated BBB+. The company can raise up to £1.2bn in senior debt which equates to 70% of its regulated asset base (RAB), a key credit ratio. The financing is due to sign next week and is being put together by RBS, Credit Agricole, HSBC and JP Morgan.

Gatwick was bought near the bottom of the market for £1.5bn by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a fund backed by Credit Suisse and GE. Shareholders who have since bought stakes in the airport include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, National Pension Service of Korea, California state fund Calpers and Future Fund of Australia, leaving GIP with 42%.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick Airport gets more Zimbabwe flights

Gatwick Airport is set to offer more flights to Zimbabwe with one of the African country's airlines.

Air Zimbabwe has made the move to increase the number of flights it offers between the London travel hub and Harare as a result of more travellers using the route.

From April 1st, the airline will offer three weekly flights between the two destinations, an increase on the current two.

"Having three flights between Harare and London gives travellers more flexibility," David Mwenga, the airline's general manager for Europe, told Newzimbabwe.com.

The new schedule will begin with a flight leaving the Zimbabwean capital for London's Gatwick Airport on the evening of Friday April 1st. There will then be a return flight from the UK facility on the Saturday.

There will also be one morning flight on offer, which will travel from Harare to London early on Sundays and return in the evening.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick announce two new non executive directors

Gatwick Airport has announced that Sir Roy McNulty and Raphael Arndt have been appointed as non-executive directors of the company. Sir Roy was chairman of the civil aviation authority until 2009 and chairman of National Air Traffic Services Limited from 1999 to 2001. He is currently chairman of the Rail Value for Money Study commissioned jointly by the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation.

Raphael Arndt, who is head of infrastructure and timberland at The Future Fund, has managed successful infrastructure and timberland portfolios and has significant asset management experience. Both new directors were recommended by investors in Gatwick Airport.

Sir David Rowlands, chairman of Gatwick Airport said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome Sir Roy and Raphael as Non-Executive Directors. Sir Roy’s extensive experience on transport and aviation matters and Raphael’s strong track record in infrastructure and asset management, will be extremely valuable as Gatwick competes to grow and become London’s airport of choice.’

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick plans ‘London airport of choice’ PR push

Gatwick Airport has awarded PR company The Red Consultancy a major new brief as it looks to challenge Heathrow's status as London's leading airport. The airport has reportedly appointed Red on a three-year basis for a six-figure sum following a competitive pitch process.

The agency's key task will be help it communicate its objective to be 'London's airport of choice' for travellers whose journey begins or ends in London and south east England. Gatwick Airport head of media relations Sarah Baranowski said: 'The agency is being brought in to show what the new airport [referring to the £1bn upgrade currently underway] will mean to passengers, to communicate the investment story and other benefits.'

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Gatwick in airline charges row

The Civil Aviation Authority has told Gatwick Airport it must revise its baggage and check-in charges, abtn reports. The ruling follows a 2009 appeal from Ryanair, who argued passengers travelling with hand luggage only, having checked in online, should not pay the same as passengers checking in at the airport with hold baggage.

A Ryanair spokesman said Gatwick’s charging regime had been ‘discriminatory’, prompting the appeal to the CAA. He added: ‘All passengers are charged for check-in facilities, even though all Ryanair passengers check-in online and the majority travel with only hand luggage. Ryanair passengers have therefore been subsidising the check-in costs of airlines that do require passengers to use these inefficient, expensive, facilities.’

The CAA found in favour of Ryanair, saying Gatwick did not fully comply with airport ground handling regulations. A CAA spokesman said the airport had ‘failed to use objective and transparent criteria in setting its charges’. It must now ‘consult interested parties effectively in order to revise its pricing structure for check-in and baggage processing by no later than 1 April 2012’.

A Gatwick spokeswoman said the airport plans to carry out a consultation later this year to revise the structure of check-in desk and baggage charges. She said the airport had recognised this as ‘an area of contention’, but that full compliance with CAA directives would be in place by April 2012.

Source[/textarea]
 

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