The opening of Heathrow’s rebuilt Terminal 2 will make the airport more attractive for connecting passengers, according to the Star Alliance whose members will use the new terminal.
The new terminal which will also be known as the Queen’s Terminal is due to open on June 4 when United will become the first airline to move into the building.
The terminal will then see the rest of the Star Alliance carriers move in over the following months with all 22 member airlines operating at Heathrow due to be under the one roof by the end of October.
Horst Findeisen, Star Alliance’s vice president of commercial and business development, said: “This will be the first time any alliance has worked so closely with an airport.
“People may have avoided Heathrow in the past because the connecting experience was cumbersome. With Terminal 2, it will be more efficient and quicker so probably more people will want to connect through Heathrow. We think that it will grow because customers will enjoy the experience more.”
Star Alliance gave a briefing about the new terminal during the opening day of the Business Travel Show in London today.
According to the alliance, the opening of Terminal 2 will cut the minimum connecting time from 90 minutes to 60 minutes for flights on Star Alliance carriers.
Christian Schindler, Lufthansa’s UK and Ireland director, said that 13% of the Star Alliance’s passengers currently connected through Heathrow and this could grow when members were all located in Terminal 2.
“We are very happy about Terminal 2,” he said. “It’s a unique opportunity for the Star Alliance carriers in the UK and Ireland.”
Andy Garner, Heathrow’s airline readiness director for Terminal 2, said the airport planned to operate 36 United flights to and from Terminal 2 on the first day of operation on June 4.
“We will then aggressively move airlines to Terminal 2 over a six-month period,” he said.
Garner said the airport was currently running more than 180 proving trials to try to ensure the new terminal operates smoothly from day one – unlike Terminal 5 which was hit by technical problems when it opened.
Air Canada is due to move to the new Terminal 2 on June 6, followed by Singapore Airlines on July 2, SAS on September 10 and Lufthansa from October 1.
The new Terminal 2 will have capacity for 20 million passengers per year.