Space at last: London Gatwick, North Terminal

I’ve been to London’s Gatwick airport (IATA: LGW) a few times now but so far all my flights departed from the South Terminal from where there isn’t much to report from. It’s actually probably one of the most boring terminals on this planet. Yes, there are a few shops and eateries, but there’s nothing really exciting there. Mind you, there are still things you can do at the airport in such a situation, check out some of my more creative suggestions here, here and here.

But now, let’s rather focus on the North Terminal. First of all, getting there was a bit of a hassle on this April’s fool’s day as the connecting shuttle that normally runs between the two terminals wasn’t working because they are currently upgrading it. A new shuttle should be ready by this summer. I therefore had to cue up and board a bus. Once in the North Terminal, however, it’s actually quite a pleasant experience. This building seems to be the quieter and more airy terminal. This is simply about the ratio of space to people one would accept for an airport.

Then, once through security, you’ll get to a large open space with shops all around you. There are 2 levels, the ground floor containing mostly shops such as Harrods, Dixons Travel, Accessorize, WH Smith or Boots among the more general ones. Upstairs you’ll find mainly restaurants and bars, however luckily there wasn’t as single McDonalds or Burger King in sight, sadly no Starbucks either.
So here are a few suggestions of what to do:

• Get your last minute flip flops from the well stocked “The Shoe Studio” on the ground floor
• Stock up your miniature travel essentials from Boots
• Check out the English old school, but fairly well stocked toy store “Hamley’s”
• Treat yourself to a few innovative cosmetic solutions from “Rituals…”
• If you’re hungry, go upstairs and check out Café Rouge which offers a nice seating area both facing inside and outside the terminal. Or grab a bite to eat at my favourite “sandwich franchise”, Eat. If you’re a bit more adventurous, go to the Lloyds bar and try one of their Bitters with a great view towards the runways. And finally, if you’re the milk shake & hot dog kind of person, then checking out “Shake-a-Hula” is a must. They serve, you guessed it, milk shakes and hot dogs. But don’t worry; you don’t have to have them in one go necessarily.

Airport Name	London Gatwick Airport, North Terminal
Website	http://www.gatwickairport.com
IATA Code	LGW
Design
Shopping
Toilets
Overall
	£62.20
	£32.99 (incl. Ice Jacket)

[Picture from Flickr - some rights reserved]

read comments (0)

Chocolate Fest at Zurich Airport

Well, this isn’t actually news as Zurich Airport’s Chocolate Fest has been going on since the 19th February. But it did catch my eyes this time while travelling through the airport. Why? No, not because I felt a sudden chocolate rush and would have had to try all the yummy offerings from Lindt, Toblerone, Frey or Sprüngli (honestly!), it was because I discovered this chocolate art creation you see in the picture: Australia in chocolate. I’m actually emigrating to this country next month, so it fit very well. Next to the Australian icons you can also discover other countries’ themes made of, you guessed it, chocolate. It’s worthwhile going for a quick tour so that you then at least have an excuse to try those “god forbidden” Sprüngli truffes…

The exhibition continues until the 5th April and you can find it in the transfer & shopping area A at Zurich airport. The Sprüngli truffes can be enjoyed even beyond that date at their airport store in A and E.

read comments (0)

Five things Alain de Botton learned at Heathrow’s T5

The Guardian yesterday published five things Alain de Botton learned from spending a week in Heathrow‘s terminal 5. BAA hired the Swiss philosopher a month ago and granted him unlimited access to all areas in the terminal. Here is what he found:

1 A surprising number of people die at Heathrow every week: around two a terminal. The 20 minutes after you’ve got off the plane are especially hazardous to your constitution. Then again, given the tenderness that parting couples show one another at the barrier, the prospect of death en route can do wonders for any fractious relationship.

2 There’s a British Airways check-in employee at Terminal 5 who, if you manage to be especially rude to her, will pretend that her machine has suddenly designated you for an upgrade. Then, just as she observes your scowl turn into a deferential smile, she will take a second look at her screen, sigh empathetically and announce that sadly the system has mysterious changed its mind and there won’t be an upgrade after all. “That’s a lesson that normally lasts a lifetime,” she reckons.

3 It’s a good deal more interesting to study how an airline meal is made than to eat one. Every weekday at around 4am, a mile from Terminal 5, in an aluminium shed owned by Gate Gourmet, a woman called Leyla sets to work grilling the hundred lamb cutlets that will, a few hours later, face Emirates business-class passengers on EK008 to Dubai.

4 What spoils our experience of airports is that we tend to go there only to catch a flight. We’d be wiser to start going with a view to doing nothing other than have a look around, as people used to do in the 1960s – and which we will probably have to relearn to do, as we wake up to the extraordinary environmental impact of even the most advanced aeroplane engines.

5 To judge by the continuing success of airport-based company Caviar House, homo sapiens manifests a special proclivity for the creatures of the sea as it prepares to take to the skies. Our sea-based appetites perhaps result from a semiconscious desire to savour man’s triumph over both the oceans and the skies, the overworld and the underworld, this duality perfectly reconciled in a man who can in the same afternoon eat a dozen oysters and board a 747 to another continent.

Alain de Botton’s new book, “A Week at the Airport” is out now (Profile Books, £8.99). In addition, Passengers can get one of 10,000 exclusive copies distributed for free at Costa Coffee stores in all 5 London Heathrow terminals.

[Picture from the Guardian]

read comments (1)

Golden sun streaming over London Luton Airport

London Luton Airport (IATA: LTN) has excellent connections with key towns and cities across the country. Arrive at Luton by bus and you have almost door to door service but be dropped off by a friend – walk an extra 30 seconds to the entrance – and hello – pay £1 for the privilege!! Mmmm. However, once inside Luton International Airport the flat wide floor plan is inviting and user friendly.

With the “must have” M&S and WH Smith to scoop up your trashy mag & bottle of water, the concourse also offers variety of food options including snacks and a full bar from the open style, spacious Cafe Bar.

You’ll also find Bar Des Voyageurs, a beautiful Parisian style bar offering a selection of hot and cold snacks and a choice of wines from around the world.

Once checked in, take a simple flight of escalators to level 2, straight through security and voila, you have entered the international gateway!

Here you will find the typical homage to capitalism, but after wading through duty free shops & alike (some l might add have amazing bargains) you are greeted by the golden sun streaming through the massive windows.

For those sceptics: On the other 364 days of the year you are still greeted by an abundance of wonderful light . This is truly an underestimated advantage to any flight where you might be suffering the dreaded late departure… natural light.

So, you have now entered the perfectly positioned open/free flowing bar Est … offering freshly prepared cocktails, juice combinations, Italian coffee and a delicious selection of antipasti platters.

Opposite is the cosy sister restaurant, Est … where you have a full menu to choose from including freshly made pizza, pasta, focaccia, salads and more.

A helpful Amusement Arcade called “Game Grid” is also positioned directly opposite: fun for all the family! Drop the kids off & watch them whilst sipping a glass of Chardy!
Once called for your flight you wind through a rabbit warren walkway of fibro but you will get there in the end.

Let’s Talk Arriving in Luton…
As above, your friends and family can chose to pay £1 to greet you at the virtual door OR you can jump on a bus. Although travel time is only 2 minutes down the road to the “free section”, who can be bothered after a long flight? Mmmm.

Top 3 adventures in Luton International Airport:

1. The attractive open Bar Cafe smack-bang in the middle of the check in/entrance area lends itself to a payback drink with your friend who just lost £1 by dropping you off.
2. Indulge your retro pacman fantasies in the amusement arcade, Game Grid.
3. Watch the chefs carve your roast or take out the freshly baked bread from the exposed ovens at The Real Food Company. Fresh fruit is on display so why not choose your own smoothie! (A new children’s play area has just opened too!)

Airport Name	London Luton Airport
Website	http://www.london-luton.co.uk
IATA Code	LTN
Design	.5 (points for super functional layout)
Shopping
Toilets
Overall

[Picture from Flickr - some rights reserved]

read comments (0)

Horses and Barns at Göteborg City Airport

The word “City” usually refers to a thriving metropolis, a large or important town, so you would therefore think an airport with this noun attached is either very close to such a place or at least reflects a certain grand scale. Well, in Göteborg City Airports case it’s – wait for it – neither!

The airport isn’t particularly close to the centre of Göteborg, or Gothenburg in English, (alright being situated 14 km north-west of the town is not terribly far away, but definitely not right next to it), nor is it particularly sizable. In fact Göteborg City Airport (IATA: GSE) comprises of little more than a farm house and an extension; seriously, you will see horses next to the landing strip, it’s tiny!

This quaint little airport now mainly serves as a Ryanair destination anywhere from Dusseldorf Weeze to London Standsted. However, I have to admit, it’s actually closer to Sweden’s second largest city than its big brother Göteborg-Landvetter Airport (IATA: GOT). Given the size of the airport and my natural shyness of horses, there isn’t much to do there, so my first suggestion is to arrive as late as your nerves can afford .

But this wouldn’t be LateDeparture.com if I didn’t find a few selected things you might like to do to kill some time. Here are my suggestions:

• Indulge with a “Somersby Pear Cider” for SEK 48 at the airport restaurant (the tin shed on your right as you enter)
• Watch the arriving and departing aircraft from the outdoor seating area in the restaurant, it’s amazing how close you’ll feel to the runway!
• Top up your fluids with some free filtered water from the dispenser in the restaurant
• Buy a legendary Swedish wooden butter knife and cheese grater at the small but fully stocked airport gift shop
• With each incoming aircraft, watch the main road out of the airport being closed off for vehicles. Not something you see every day!

Airport Name	Göteborg City Airport
Website	http://www.goteborgcityairport.se
IATA Code	GSE
Design
Shopping
Toilets
Overall
	SEK 969 (£77.60)
	not available

[Picture from Göteborg City Airport (http://www.goteborgcityairport.se)]

read comments (0)

Viva Barcelona Airport!

I’m sure you agree with me that Gaudi’s Barcelona is always worth a visit!

The city offers something for everyone: From tasty Catalonian cuisine, cultural festivals, haute couture on Passeig de Gracia to the alternative scene around Gracia. And how about good old “La Rambla”, with its equal amount of stalls, tourists and thieves. If you fancy an overpriced, flavourless margarita served in a gold fish bowl this is your heaven . Or try the overcrowded beaches with all its shame- and topless youngsters.

It is then not surprising that the gateway to this multi-coloured, metro sexual city leads through a rather large airport, second only to the ridiculously massive Madrid Barajas Airport. In fact, Barcelona (IATA: BCN)  just expanded its airport by opening a brand new terminal on 16th June: T1.This new structure houses all Star Alliance flights whereas Spain’s national airline Iberia remains in Terminal T2 … exactly where I base my review.

Without further ado, here are ‘The Top 7 Things to Do’ in Terminal 2:

• Stock up your wardrobe at the Terminal’s local Zara shop
• Buy that Jamon Iberico you ate in the tapas bar the night before and loved so much (“Sibarium”, opposite Zara, Jamon Iberico, 100g for €13.90)
• Stock up some exquisite wine from the Duty Free store (my suggestion: the 2005 Celeste Ribera del Duero)
• Don’t forget that small thing for your girlfriend at “Etam” lingerie
• Now the lady is sorted out, you can get yourself that new season FC Barcelona T-shirt from the local FCB fan shop
• You went for the full Monty at the lingerie store? Winner! Congratulate yourself with something red from the Ferrari store (Terminal 2B).
• Flying back on a Sunday and want a laugh? Watch all the hung over hen and stag parties go by in terrible pain . You can easily recognize them by their gender uniformity and their similar facial expression (aka “why did I do this?”)

Viva Barcelona, viva Barcelona airport!

Airport Name	Barcelona El Prat Airport – Terminal 2
Website	http://www.aena.es
IATA Code	BCN
Design
Shopping
Toilets
Overall
	€ 92.00 (£78.80)
	€ 35.00 (£30.00)

[Picture from Flickr - some rights reserved]

read comments (0)

Oktoberfest atmosphere at Munich airport

Germany’s Munich airport, Franz-Joseph Strauss (IATA: MUC) was recently voted Europe’s second best Airport after Zurich in a “Skytrax” survey; and in my view quite rightly!

Munich is a fairly big airport with 2 terminals serving as Lufthansa’s second hub airport after Frankfurt. With airports however, size is not everything…

It’s not surprising then that Munich airport has two faces: The rather boring and older Terminal 1 which opened in 1992 is not the most exciting place. This terminal serves all non-Star Alliance flights and is divided into subsections A to E. Once you are through security, it’s a very limited experience in terms of what you can do there!

Terminal 2 on the other hand is the flagship terminal of the airport and hosts all Star Alliance flights. It offers a wide range of shops and restaurants even after passing the security section. So, you shouldn’t get bored anytime soon. My personal favourite is the Dallmayr shop: try the fresh “Bretzen” for example. Delicious!

Overall however, I’d recommend you spend as much time as you can in the airports “Zentralbereich”. This is the central area located between the two main terminals.

Here my top 5 things to do:

1. Enjoy an Oktoberfest atmosphere and super friendly staff at “Airbräu’s” outside beer garden between the terminals
2. Stock up for an authentic, Bavarian Weisswurst breakfast at the well equipped grocery store “Edeka”
3. Still haven’t sent the bundle of postcards and gifts you promised? No problem. You can send them off with the all important German post stamp at the “Deutsche Post” office next to “Edeka”.
4. The ever present Starbucks can sort out your early-flight coffee needs. You find it on the way to Terminal 2 from the outside area.
5. Oh and did you really, really, really like that waitress from the Airbräu (see first point)? Buy her some red roses from the beautiful flower shop “Airport Flower” next to the Starbucks

Airport Name	Munich “Franz Josef Strauss” Airport
Website	http://www.munich-airport.de
IATA Code	MUC
Design
Shopping
Toilets
Overall
	€ 87.90 (£74.30)
	€ 34.50 (£29.15)

[Picture from Flickr - some rights reserved.]

read comments (0)

Terminal with a view: Heathrow Terminal 5 – B Gates

On my business trips to California I usually prefer to fly Virgin Atlantic, but this time, unfortunately, the economics were against my preference. Well, to be honest, British Airways isn’t actually that bad even though their Premium Economy product lacks all the benefits of its arch rival but I guess value for my employer value for money was pretty okay this time. But there is one very clear benefit of flying with BA out of Heathrow (IATA: LHR): you can leave from Terminal 5. And that, you have to admit, is despite all the BAA bashing, is a fantastic terminal.

LateDeparture.com has previously written about Terminal 5 but we then focused on the main building, housing the “A gates”. Terminal 5’s full structure, however, consists today of the main building and a satellite terminal with the B gates (Terminal 5B). A third complex, the C gates (or Terminal 5C), is currently in construction and due to open in May 2010. British Airways mainly operates their long haul flights from the B gates, hence I now got the chance to have a closer look at it.

Reaching the satellite terminal is simple and quick: you hop on a short underground shuttle from the main building. Make sure you set aside 10 to 15 minutes for the journey with the actual shuttle ride only taking about 1 minute. There, by the way, I suggest you ride in the front as it travels pretty fast and looking out to the track is a somewhat exciting (I know boys will be boys…).

Once at the terminal, you will find a few shops (see PDF map for details) including a nicely stocked Boots (I liked their selection of miniature travel essentials), a WHSmith, a Duty-Free Shop, a “Caviar House Seafood” bar with a great view towards the main building and a sandwich & coffee place. None of them are actually interesting enough for you to leave the shopping and gourmet heaven of the main building in a hurry, but there is one very distinct advantage of the satellite: it is quiet. Because fewer flights depart from this terminal, less people are present which again means you can easily find somewhere to sit and relax. This, together with the 360 degree view of everything that is going on at Britain’s busiest airport makes it an attractive option for people like me who are fascinated observing the airport’s operations, landing and departing aircrafts (try to spot Singapore Airline’s A380). With the satellite’s close proximity to the main terminal, it could even be an attractive alternative for sitting out longer delays occurring in the main terminal.

[Photo by LateDeparture.com - all rights reserved]

read comments (0)

How the swine flu affects your travels

Today, the WHO classified the swine influenza A (H1N1) outbreak as a “public health emergency of international concern.” And while more cases of swine flu were confirmed on Monday in the United States, Canada and Europe (Update: Britain is now also directly affected with one case), country organizations began to take actions, particularly by preventing and monitoring travellers to and from their countries.

Furthermore, financial markets have already “penalized” Mexican airports whose shares traded substiantially lower today: The airport owners are among the “most vulnerable” stocks amid the flu outbreak, UBS AG analysts wrote in a note today in which they cut Mexican equities to “underweight” writes Bloomberg.

It’s pretty clear that this latest threat of an influenza pandemic is going to have further implications on the economy. But how does it affect travellers? Various countries have already tightened their airport checks. Australia, for example, has trained airport staff to spot people with flu like symptoms. According to an article any passengers with flu-like symptoms would be met by quarantine officers. In addition, all incoming international flights would have to make an onboard announcement telling passengers to seek immediate medical advice if they felt unwell with flu symptoms.

Hong Kong, the epicenter of a SARS outbreak six years ago, announced some of the toughest measures anywhere on Sunday in response to a swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States, reports The New York Times.

So, what should you do if you are travelling to or from North America in the near future? Here is some advice:

1. Travelling to Mexico: in general it’s probably safe to say that if you can postpone your trip, then do so, otherwise check your countries latest travel advice (the UK foreign office’s one can be found here, Germany’s here, Ireland’s here, the USA’s here and Canada’s here). If you decide to go, then do make sure you check with your airline if the flight is still leaving as today several charter airlines (e.g. TUI in Germany) have cancelled their flights to Mexico.
2. Travelling from Mexico: be aware of extra precautions at Mexican and foreign airports. Prepare for additional screenings and questioning. Check your destinations country latest immigration advice. Your airline or travel agency should be able to help you.
3. Travelling to/from other North American destinations: expect delays at the airports due to tightened security and passenger screenings. Check with your local airline for the latest uptodate travel information.

[Picture from Flickr - some rights reserved]

read comments (0)

Evacuation at Heathrow Terminal 3

Just when I got to Heathrow for my Etihad flight to Kuala Lumpur the police closed down terminal 3 and evacuated everyone. No one from the BAA staff seems to know more at this point.

Update: Fire engines are arriving but are held back at the holding area outside the Central Bus Terminal.

Update: The terminal has just been reopened. Now hundreds of people are trying to get back in. It looks chaotic!

Update: I’ve now made my way to Kuala Lumpur but nearly missed my plane in London since I had to queue for about an hour for security at Terminal 3 and it seemed as most other passengers of that flight were already through it before the evacuation. Luckily for me the fantastic onboard service from Etihad Airlines made up for the Heathrow shambles.

read comments (0)