City lights

More air travellers are making the trip to Docklands than ever before, but will its rapid growth bring problems for City Airport, asks Alex McWhirter

Travellers who have used London City Airport (LCY) during the past year will have noticed how crowded the single departure lounge can become at busy times. Airlines have also found that it can become busy when it's time for them to negotiate for slots. Last spring when Air France and British Airways (BA) launched a number of new routes from the airport they faced problems getting timings in the morning peak.

"We now face a slot problem in the morning," says Peter Simpson, managing direction of BA Cityflyer, which operates over 20 flights a day from LCY. "There's a bottleneck in the number of aircraft stands which are available for use."

The airport says that improvements are in hand to add extra capacity for planes and passengers alike. "If we do become like Heathrow where it takes ages to clear the facilities then there's a risk of us losing the plot," admits Richard Gooding, LCY's chief executive. "London City Airport's core message is that we save you time. If we are careful we can manage this growth."

The airport's new owners – AIG and Global Infrastructure Partners each have a 50 per cent stake – are investing to cope with the growth. "They've recognised the long-term potential of the business," says Gooding, "and are spending £30 million on constructing five new parking stands which will open by March 2008. Investment in security facilities and a larger departure lounge will follow."

LCY was expected to handle 2.5 million passengers this year. But, says Gooding, "the target has been revised to 2.8 million. Our master plan is to handle up to eight million passengers a year and we still intend to go to this. In the end the customer will judge whether we're right or not [in being able to cope with the extra traffic]."

It would seem the airport has benefited from the woes at Heathrow. Canny travellers are increasingly defecting from the capital's main airport in search of hubs which offer a more user-friendly experience.

However, Gooding believes LCY has also grown despite what's happening at Heathrow. "Some of the extra passengers are refugees from Heathrow but a lot are to do with natural growth," he says.

The airport is well located for Canary Wharf, where worker numbers will increase from 85,000 this year to 100,000 by the end of next year. It's also handy for the City, and in both locations there are many executives working in the banking and financial service industries "who have a propensity for travel", adds Gooding.

Another reason is that the airport now has a much better spread of routes. Not so long ago it was thought that its short runway meant that flights wouldn't be able to go much farther than, for example, Milan and Zurich. But in recent times, the airlines have managed to operate longer sectors, with Stockholm, Madrid, Nice and Rome all entering the route map – last winter saw Italy's Air One launch daily flights to Milan Linate and Rome.

After years of ignoring LCY in favour of Heathrow and Gatwick, BA has based a 10-strong fleet of BAe146s there and is boosting flights by using its Cityflyer subsidiary. Peter Simpson says: "This year we are offering 20 per cent of the capacity from London City, with 250 flights a week carrying 600,000 passengers a year."

BA views London City as a vital market, because 83 per cent of the airport's passengers are travelling on business. So last March the carrier added flights to Glasgow and Zurich, and boosted frequencies on the popular Edinburgh route. BA also continues to serve Frankfurt and Milan Malpensa out of London City.

Air France is also expanding. It has used its Irish City Jet subsidiary to launch flights to Belfast City, Geneva, Madrid, Nice and Zurich. Its flights operate from LCY into Paris Orly, located to the south of the capital, and an alternative to the main Paris Charles de Gaulle facility to the north.
SAS, which began serving Copenhagen and Stockholm last year, has just added a new route to Oslo, while VLM, the airport's biggest customer, continues to expand. It now operates no fewer than 11 flights a day to Amsterdam and has added a new service to Eindhoven (via Amsterdam). VLM has also introduced a BAe146 jet, which now operates most flights on the Rotterdam route.

The other development is that passengers now benefit from competition on the busiest routes. "Ten years ago we would have been nervous to have more than one competitor per route," says Gooding, "but we've seen that the extra competition has developed the market. The Zurich route [which had been monopolised by Swiss] has been crying out for choice."

It now means that two airlines are competing on routes like Amsterdam, Geneva and Madrid, while no fewer than three – BA, Swiss and Air France – are battling it out on the Zurich service.

One area still not covered is Eastern Europe, although Gooding believes that Prague and Warsaw will be added once the time is right. "Vienna [as a future destination] is on the radar, and I won't be surprised if we see the return of Berlin. That city is changing as business develops."

Finally, the airport can boast the green fact that more passengers arrive and leave by public transport than any other UK airport. More than 50 per cent of passengers now use the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), thanks to its convenient connections with Canary Wharf and the City. That number is set to grow, with further DLR extensions to Woolwich (links with North Kent regional trains) due to open in 2009 and to Stratford (links to Essex regional services) in 2010.

With Heathrow growing ever-more unpopular, and new developments constantly attracting businesses further to the east, it looks as if, for London City, the only way is up.

Getting there

London City is the closest international airport to central London. It is 10 miles from the West End, six miles from the City and three miles from Canary Wharf. From central London, either take the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) from Bank underground station or the Jubilee Line line (connect with the DLR at Canning Town). The journey takes around 40 minutes from Green Park tube station in Mayfair.

A taxi from the centre of town will cost around £30, from the City around £20 and from Canary Wharf around £12. For chauffeur-drive options,
the airport has Quay Cars, which is situated opposite the International Arrivals area. Book on your arrival or in advance. Tel +44 (0)207 646 0957 or +44 (0)20 3203 2957.

Parking at LCY

There are two short-term car parks at London City airport, one right next to the terminal building, and one a short walk away. Booking is not necessary in either, and you can either pay by credit card or get a ticket and pay when you leave. Payment for parking charges can be made in the terminal building at a range of payment machines or at the Travelex desk.

Charges for the short-term parking next to the terminal are: £6.50 (up to one hour), £10 for up to two hours, £14 up to five hours, and £35 from five to 24 hours. Each additional 24 hours or part thereof is charged at £35.

For parking in the main car park, charges are: £4.50?(up to one hour), £7 up to two hours, £11 up to five hours, and £30 from five to 24 hours. Each additional 24 hours is charged at £30.

Free valet parking

Available Monday-Friday, valet parking is free (you only pay the cost of the car park, as detailed above). Drive up to the terminal, give your flight details and keys to an assistant at the Valet Parking Zone and hand over your keys. Your car will be parked in the designated Valet Parking area of the short-stay car park. On your return, go to the information desk at the airport and pay the parking ticket price. Your car will be waiting at the front of the terminal during normal service hours (0530-2100). If your flight is delayed, the valets will have details of this and wait for your arrival before fetching the car.

Call +44 (0)20 7646 0155 for more information or visit londoncityairport.com.