The SkyTeam airline alliance has unveiled plans for a new facility in Terminal 4 at London’s Heathrow Airport. The alliance is working with the British Airports Authority (BAA) on the project.
The facility is scheduled to be completed in spring 2009. SkyTeam will offer a common check-in area, common-use self-service kiosks and additional locations for bag drop-offs.
SkyTeam said Heathrow would be the first airport in which all SkyTeam members will share kiosks, enabling alliance passengers to access travel reservations with any of the 10 SkyTeam carriers. The planned renovations will result in better traffic flow for passengers making their way to their departure gates, due to an extended and refurbished departure concourse, said SkyTeam.
SkyTeam’s move to Terminal 4 will take effect over the next 12 months. In the first phase, at the end of March 2008, the U.S. carriers (Continental, Delta and Northwest) will join KLM and Kenya Airways, which already operate out of Terminal 4. In the spring of 2009, the remaining SkyTeam carriers operating out of Heathrow (Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, CSA and Korean Air) will relocate.
Member airlines in the Oneworld alliance also will change locations at Heathrow this year. The eight Oneworld carriers serving the airport will consolidate their operations from four terminals to two.
British Airways will consolidate more than 90% of its operations at the airport into the new Terminal 5 in two phases, on March 27 and April 30. Its remaining Heathrow operations will move, alongside those of all other Oneworld airlines serving the airport, into Terminal 3, which is the closest of the existing terminals to Terminal 5. The Terminal 3 moves for British Airways will take place on Sept. 17 and in early 2009.
Oneworld airlines American, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian are already based at Terminal 3. Finnair will move there from Terminal 1 and Iberia from Terminal 2 on Sept. 17. Qantas will follow from Terminal 4 in early 2009.