Star and Heathrow win award

WASHINGTON  London Heathrow and Star Alliance have won the World’s Airport of the Year at Air Transport World’s (ATW) 41st Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards.
Honoured jointly for their collaborative work on the new Terminal 2 at Heathrow, the accolade was presented to Andy Garner director airline business development, London Heathrow, and Mark Schwab, Star Alliance CEO.
“London Heathrow Airport truly stood out for its exceptional project in the redesign of Terminal 2 and its demonstration of what can be achieved when airports and airlines work together. Heathrow and Star Alliance have produced a marvellous facility that is a win, win for its passengers in every respect,” said ATW Editor-in-Chief Karen Walker.
The award is one of the first bestowed on the new Terminal 2, known as the Queen’s Terminal, which opened 4 June 2014.
inside no 6The purpose-built, state of the art facility was jointly conceived by Heathrow Airport, Star Alliance and its member carriers with the aim of establishing a true seamless hub at one of the world’s premier international airports. The building was designed by Spanish Architect Luis Vidal to be simple and intuitive, with a bright and airy atmosphere. The 2.5 billion GBP investment is part of an overall upgrade to Heathrow Airport, which has cost a total of 11 billion GBP over the last five years.
Mark Schwab commented: “In June last year we rang in a new era for our customers, member carriers and employees at London Heathrow. Feedback we have received so far confirms that we offer our customers a superior travel experience, are creating new business opportunities for our member carriers and providing an improved working environment for employees. It is great to see our joint efforts culminate in receiving the prestigious Air Transport World Airport of the Year Award; the first time ever that this award is being given jointly to an airport and an airline alliance.”
Being able to operate from a single terminal at Heathrow ensures that Star Alliance member carriers can offer their more than 12 million passengers using the airport on an annual basis a vastly improved travel experience, including shorter connecting times.
The check-in area has been specially designed for speed and efficiency. Airlines are grouped in zones, while a row of 81 common use self-service kiosks can be used by any passenger to check in and/or print a bag tag before handing their luggage to an agent at the fast bag drop.
Eight out of 12 gates at the T2B satellite allow self-boarding, meaning passengers simply pass through a mechanical barrier to board their flight.
The Star Alliance airlines serving Heathrow are Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India*, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, and United.

sourced:ttrweekly.com