The new owners of London City Airport have given the go-ahead for an expansion to include five new aircraft stands to be built over the water opposite the car park area. Unlike most airports, London City is essentially aircraft parking restrained rather than slot restricted, although extra flights in the busiest periods are at a premium. Planning permission has already been approved and the multi-million pound project is now out to tender. If construction work starts in the early spring the contract would call for completion in time for the summer season 2008, that is late March next year.
In a major breakthrough for the airport, Air France ” Brymon Airways partner when the airport first opened in October 1987 ” is planning its biggest route expansion since that time and will code-share with Scot Airways, another long term tenant. For the start of the summer season AF will introduce five new routes of its own, Geneva, Madrid, Milan”s city centre Linate, Nice and Zurich, plus a code-share on Scot Airways existing Dundee and Edinburgh routes. Scot themselves will start a three times daily service to Belfast City Airport and will introduce an Air France Avro RJ85 for an early morning 0650 departure to Edinburgh with a return at 0925. This is a significant step up in capacity and services, the aircraft based in London giving easily the earliest northbound flight, and fitting in during a gap in the return flights.
All the other seven weekdaily Scot/Air France flights continue to be flown with the popular Dornier 328 turboprop, which offers the same flight time as the Avro jet. BA also offers eight return flights to Edinburgh Monday to Friday.
Air France have been reticent with actual schedules for the new routes, competing with British Airways resurrected service and Swiss out of Zurich, and Swiss only on Geneva. BA is already on Madrid. To Milan there is direct competition with Air One at Linate and BA at the international Malpensa airport. The Nice route AF will have to themselves.
This important expansion is made possible by CityJet, who actually fly the routes on behalf of Air France, and are 100% owned by the French airline, taking a major aircraft investment. Out go 20 elderly BAe 146 types, to be replaced by 23 second user late build Avro RJ85, essentially an updated version of the same aircraft with more powerful engines and updated systems. The AF Group, that is together with KLM, will now have 86 flights to and from London City Airport week days, making it the largest carrier at the airport in terms of passenger numbers, and second to VLM as regards movements. Air France has dropped all services to Paris CDG and is entirely concentrating on Orly.
CityJet CEO Geoffrey O”Byrne White said: ”CityJet for Air France is an important milestone. We are pleased to underline out commitment to London City where we have had presence for many years while simultaneously pursuing our development with our revamped fleet.”
Air France senior vice president of Europe and North Africa, and a former general manager at the airline”s London headquarters, Etienne Rachou said: ”We are providing our business clientele with a hitherto unknown service, access to a network straight from the heart of London with all the benefits and services that the Air France Group has to offer. In this way we are strengthening our position as leader in this market.”