London Heathrow T2. For some of you, you’ll have flashbacks to the Europa Terminal as it used to be called. Well, that’s all changed as the new Heathrow T2 is nearing completion.
Roof of the new LHR T2 – Image BAA.
Well to no-one’s surprise, T2 will be the home of Star Alliance with plans for all Star Alliance airlines who operate in and out of Heathrow to move into the terminal at the start of operations . That list includes:
- Aegean Air
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Brussels Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Air (Currently Member Elect)
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- Swiss International Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways International
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
- US Airways
In adition, other airlines will be moving in – like T1 handles some UK Domestic and Ireland Routes, T2 will do the same. Operators who fall into this category that will move into the T2:
- Aer Lingus – Your did you know of the day… Guess who the 4th largest airline is at Heathrow?
- Virgin Atlantic – Virgin Atlantic will be moving their Domestic operation into the new T2 complex. In intial oprations, the airline will operate from T1. Virgin Atlantic’s international operation will still operate from Heathrow T3.
However, this leave a few airlines in the air about where they’re going to park their aircraft when the new T2 opens and the old T1 shuts. BAA says this will be addressed by end of 2013. The airlines in question are
- British Airways (ex-BMI)
- El Al
- Icelandair
- Cyprus Airways,
- Germanwings
- Transaero
For BA – the answer is simple…ish – to distribute themselves amongst T3 and T5 – subject to gate space.
Germanwings I can imagine will get T2 parking spots due to the Lufthansa relationship.
For Transaero, Icelandair, Cyprus Airways and El Al… the question becomes a bit more complex. All bar El Al I can see being shunted off to T4 (where SkyTeam and the non-aligned airlines are based).
El Al however could represent a real problem where to put them – least of all due to the more stringent security measures they employ whilst has allowed them their own gate most of the time at LHR T1.
So who will move where? We’ll find out in 2013 before T1 is shut, and the new T2 opens…
Virgin’s tie up with Delta could, and should, see them move to T4.
We can hope, but Virgin has invested a lot in the facilities at T3. Knowing our luck Delta will move to T3, and leave it Skyteam partners behind in T4
Well T4 is where all the non aligned lot end up as is….