New Gatwick owner plans lower fares and no queues
22.10.09
Gatwick's new owner will pledge to slash passenger queuing times after completing the £1.51 billion takeover, the Standard has reported. It says the takeover is expected to lead to huge expansion of the airport, opening up the prospect of lower fares and more destinations.
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which also owns London City airport, said that it wants to end Gatwick's status as the ‘poor relation’ of Heathrow through massive improvements to customer service. Full details will not be announced until the purchase is finalised in December but a source told the Standard that cutting queues through security will be a top priority. The source said: ‘At London City we have a no-queues policy; the longest are 3 minutes at most. There is no reason why we can't apply the same principles [at Gatwick].’
The Times suggests that GIP has pledged to upgrade the airport’s ageing facilities. It will spend about £900 million over the next four years to bring the tired buildings of Gatwick up to standard. Michael McGhee, the GIP partner leading the acquisition, told the newspaper: ‘We will upgrade and modernise Gatwick Airport to transform the experience for both business and leisure passengers. We plan to work closely with the airlines to improve performance, as we have done successfully at London City Airport.’
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book gatwick airport hotel or gatwick airport car park at the lowest price, click on these links to two great gatwick parking and gatwick hotels price comparison pages.
