Walking you around the Walkabout

One of the highlights of our days is the walkabout – taking time to travel around the airports we work in to collect data, view airside layout changes and take time to talk to stakeholders.

We do official ‘walkabout’s (surveys) of Heathrow once every quarter – This is where we assess the whole of the airport to see what has changed and collect relevant data. It may be that car parking allocations have altered, a temporary building has been erected or a construction project has taken some land – this may cause problems if we have targeted this space as possible land to solve a capacity problem!

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Will growth wait for the airport debate?

A few weeks ago Colin Matthews, the Chief Executive of Heathrow, wrote in the Telegraph about how the airport, and the UK’s export trade, is missing out on connections to growth regions while the debate about airport expansion rumbles on.

“To meet its potential, Britain needs to be connected with the regions where growth is surging ahead – and that means emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and North America…. Instead, Heathrow has been full for a decade and those routes are being handed to our hub rivals in Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. Previous analysis shows our economy is missing out on £14bn a year in lost trade as a result, a figure that’s set to rise to £26bn by 2030.”

He argues that debate is centred around a ‘false choice’ – Heathrow or Gatwick, where in fact both airports have different roles within the UK’s aviation industry. The UK needs extra hub capacity, provided by Heathrow, in order to compete in future international markets.

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AiQ Consulting Announces Further Contracts in Heathrow

Following on from our earlier news about our contracts in Heathrow in October,  AiQ are pleased to announce another New Contract has been awarded, for Terminal 4.

This T4 Asset Replacement Migration Project will look at replacing the ageing sorting convey system. Using our bespoke simulation tool, Transvision AiR, we will look at possible options for the new convey system in terms of operational efficiency and airport capacity planning, as well as looking at the capacity of the redundant sorters.

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New Contracts Awarded – AIQ Expands Operations at Heathrow

AIQ are please to announce two new contracts at Heathrow that have been awarded over the last few weeks – Terminal 2 simulation model extension and Terminal 3 Integrated  baggage cutting options.

Terminal 2 simulation model Extension (ground handler resource requirements and efficiency)

The first looks at extending the existing Terminal 2 simulation models to look at ground handler resource requirements and operational efficiency for HAL Heathrow Airport Ltd. This is in preparation for when Terminal 2 opens and will involve setting up and implementing surveys; negotiating with stakeholders; holding workshops and process reviews; and developing special processes around individual operations. We will be reporting on staff resources, vehicles and baggage, ULD’s, tins, tugs, dollies and much more.

Looking at Ground Handler requirements and efficiency will also involved reporting on arrival delivery performance on different aircrafts, different stands and different airlines. As you can imagine, there are many handlers, flights and other operations that need to work on a limited space so providing an accurate representation of punctuality, efficiency and risk is essential. Using our unique simulation software, Transvision AiR, we will provide HAL with the data and information they need to ensure a process that realises capacity and creates operational efficiencies.

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The Runway Debate Rumbles On…

The debate over the runway capacity of the South East, and the demands that are to come in future years, has rumbled on these last few weeks after a speech from the head of the Airports Commission, Sir Howard Davies.

The Airports Commission has come to the “provisional conclusion” that extra runway capacity would be needed in the South East over the coming decades, and that to rely on existing runways would lead to “a distinctly sub-optimal solution”.

There will be excess demand, even taking into account regional airports and a conservative view of future aviation demand, which does point to the need for a new runway infrastructure in the South East.

AIQ welcomes these developments and are glad that the airport capacity issue is being reviewed. The Department for Transport’s UK Aviation Forecast in January 2013 has already found that demand for air travel is forecast to increase within the range of 1% – 3% a year up to 2050, with the major South East airports predicted to be full by 2030. Read More »

A Challenging 2012

How do you handle 200 extra full tins of bags over a two-day period, with the spotlight of the world’s media on you?

AiQ were engaged by Gebler Tooth Architects to do just that for the London Olympics 2012. Read More »