Heathrow Terminal 2 Opens – Successful completion of the AiQ MUP Planning Contract

Following a lot of hard work by all involved, Heathrow’s new Terminal 2 opens this week.

Described as an extraordinary new space in its own right, it has been “designed from the outset with the needs of the individual passenger at its heart and with sustainability as a guiding principle.” (www.heathrowairport.com)

Moving partner airlines closer together to improve flight connections and passenger experience was central to the vision behind this amazing new terminal, and AiQ were part of the team to make that happen.

We were awarded the contract for Terminal 2 MUP Planning in February, as part of our work for MACE. This involved creating live allocation plans for the make up for Terminal 2 in preparation for the opening. Revised schedules, airlines moving from T3 to T2, and ground handler contract changes, all added to the challenging conditions. Requirement to use the older T1 baggage systems to service the new T2 baggage systems, constraining makeup resources, was also a key concern.

Our expert knowledge of airport operations, capacity planning and stakeholder management ensured that the project was completed and extremely successful.

We coordinated with the ground handlers and all operational elements, including the Aviation Business Continuity Consultancy who ran and managed the actual trails. We also worked with the Baggage Handling Systems department of Babcock International, Menzies Aviation and United Airlines handling.

As well as designing and co-ordinating the project in the run up to the opening of the new Terminal, we were also present on the day of the trails, which were very successful.

We were honoured to be part of such a ground-breaking vision of airport capacity and efficiency, and look forward to more projects with Heathrow in the months and years to come.

To find out more about our work with Heathrow, read our case studies or contact us today.

AiQ – How do we work?

Process-Diagram

AiQ delivers expert consultancy services, tailored to individual client’s goals and capacity requirements.  We diagnose, develop solutions, implement and oversee live operation as part of our service.

Using our process model, we follow each of the elements in all our operations to ensure we solve airport capacity problems quickly and innovatively, giving peace of mind to our clients.

Diagnose

We create clear and concise brief response based on our experience and expert knowledge. Understanding the high level goals and detailed requirements driven by technical efficiency, safety, security and environmental sustainability, we identify the cause and nature of any capacity problem in Airports swiftly and efficiently.

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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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Providing Decision Support for Long Term Planning

AiQ Consulting provides intelligent airport consultancy, for capacity planning and operational efficiency, for many airports worldwide. This support is not just based on short-term solutions, whether it is pop up terminals or new ways around capacity problems. Our work can assist airports in long term planning, deciding on the suitability of further investments and creating buy in with key stakeholders.

With the use of our bespoke 2D simulation software, Transvision AiR, we not only help our clients with everyday operations but can also provide decision support for long term planning. Read More »

Our Services – Airport, Airfield, Terminal and Apron

 

AiQ Consulting Services

AiQ Consulting Services

AiQ covers all areas of the Airport Consultancy with our holistic approach to capacity planning and operational efficiencies.

We improve passenger experience, protect your operation and reduce risk. By realising ‘unseen’ capacity, optimising the use of what is already available, as well proving future designs or masterplans that are efficient from the outset, we help airports around the world achieve more with what they already have.

In the airfield, we maximise your airport’s competitive advantage with intelligent airfield planning, keeping pace with existing and future aircraft demands by optimising your airfield capacity. We look at major aircraft traffic surfaces, such as runways, taxiways and stands; current and future flight schedules; and capacity issues and risk that airport, operators and airlines face on any given day.

We also develop operational concepts for terminals, proving layouts and evaluating existing facilities for efficient use of resources (airport baggage check, baggage handling systems, passenger screening and more,). We enhance the function of terminal buildings, ensuring long-term utilisation and preventing unnecessary investment costs.

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AiQ Announces Further New Contracts

AiQ at Heathrow TerminalFollowing our announcement that we are to be retained by Heathrow as Airside Operations Seasonal Planners, we have been awarded several new contracts in recent weeks.

These include:

Heathrow Terminal 2 MUP Planning

This project is further work based on the capacity analysis that we completed for Heathrow a few years ago. Working for MACE, this will involve live allocation plans for the make up for Terminal 2 in preparation for the opening in June.

As airlines move from T3 to T2, with revised schedules and many ground handler contract changes, these plans are based on new, changing and challenging requirements.  Terminal 2 MUP Planning requires the use of older T1 baggage systems to service the new T2 baggage systems, which will constrain makeup resources.

This contract will take full advantage of AiQ’s stakeholder management expertise to keep the airline and ground handler community well informed and happy with the changes taking place.

Despite these challenging conditions, our expert knowledge of airport operations, capacity planning and stakeholder management will ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum for passengers, airlines, ground handling crew and others involved.

Heathrow Terminal 2 Makeup Trails Read More »

AiQ announces new Airside Capacity Modeling Contract at Heathrow

Airside Image AiQ wins new Contract at HeathrowAiQ are pleased to announce that we are now Heathrow’s Airside Operations Seasonal Planners. This operational contract, awarded by HAL in February, is to simulate Apron and Passenger Traffic activity for the whole of Heathrow, the most complex hub airport in the world.

Working with Gebler Tooth Architects (GTA) and using our bespoke 2D simulation model, Transvision AiR, we will maintain an airport capacity model with a reportable database and 2D visual vehicle simulation of the LHR Terminal Airside road and retail operations, parking and stand network.  It  includes a baseline database and simulation model for vehicle operations such as: Read More »

UK Airports – Rewriting the Future

Airport empty Can Storage SolutionAs the UK’s Airports Commission struggles to find a viable option for the much needed growth in the UK’s airports, AiQ Consulting have been finding new ways to tackle the much discussed lack of capacity.

The Airports Commission has ruled out almost all the options to increase UK airport capacity (with the exception of expanding Heathrow and Gatwick). Proposals to expand Luton, Stansted or Birmingham, build new airports at various locations around London, or create an orbital railway have all been dismissed, but what can airports do to ensure their business increases and passengers, airlines, ground handlers and more have an efficient, growing service?

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Providing Added Benefit as Standard

When you have chosen one design, over 22 different options, for your South Terminal Baggage Hall, you need to know you have chosen the most efficient, effective option before any costly investment takes place.

Our client at London Gatwick Airport asked us to prove that the chosen design worked effectively with traffic flows in the baggage hall and apron, by running simulations and liaising with stakeholders to ensure acceptance throughout the airport.

As experienced airport consultants, we were able to use our unique simulation tool Transvision AiR, and data provided by Babcock International (who were working on the ‘in’ system baggage simulation) to firstly provide a sophisticated, comprehensive MUP system. This involved working with all the ground handlers and airlines involved within the airport, to acquire the data, for the MUP.

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Simulations – a Guide to Terminology

Following on to our introduction to the benefits of Simulations in our earlier blog, we’re following it up with a guide to the terminology around the subject.

If you come from a technical and engineering background, the words used around the software are probably second nature, but if you’re not; we hope this helps you understand what we do and how it helps airports realise their capacity.

The background

Our simulations model real-life or hypothetical situations in an attempt to understand how they work, and how they work once a specific change or action has been applied.

For example, we often model the activities around airports and terminals to study the flow of traffic, passengers, airlines and more. We can then use this model when suggesting changes that can affect capacity such as seasonal changes. The resulting simulation then informs the client of the effects of any changes, before any investment has occurred. This could be prior to a design or to prove a design.

This is of great benefit to our clients, especially when some of them are complex airport hubs, responsible for millions of passengers, complex stakeholder negotiations and worldwide flight networks.

Big Data

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Get off to a Flying Start in 2014 with AiQ Consulting

Although we have had many years experience in the aviation industry, working with airports, airlines and other stakeholders to manage and improve capacity and processes, 2013 was launch year for AiQ. The year we brought all of our skills together into one consultancy that works with our clients to enhance their operation efficiencies, and realise the capacity they didn’t know they had.

This was increasingly important as discussion around airport capacity in the South East and the Davies Commission reached a fever pitch towards the end of the year. As businesses, politicians and the public alike debate what would be the best outcome, the strain on facilities in our airports continues.

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AiQ wants to Let Britain Fly

With a staggering amount of well-known companies and business leaders as signatories, the ‘Let Britain Fly’ campaign looks to make a real impact in the aviation industry.

Bringing together the UK’s business elite as a political force, the campaign aims to expand airport capacity in London and the South East to support jobs and growth. With Heathrow already reach full capacity and Gatwick and Stansted soon to follow suit, the organization believes that failing to act now to increase airport capacity will have a negative impact on the economy. They aim to build cross-party support to build new runways.

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