Alliances Consolidating Within European Airport Terminals

Amon Cohen, Business Travel News, 7/15/2009

In the latest example of consolidation by each of the three global airline alliances into single terminals, all members of Oneworld will operate exclusively from Terminal 2 at Helsinki Airport starting Aug. 5. The collocation will be completed by local flag-carrier Finnair shifting its domestic flights across from T1.

Elsewhere in Europe, all 14 members of Star Alliance serving Barcelona airport moved into T1 on June 17. In addition to facilitating connections between the coordinated schedules of member airlines, Star said the consolidation helps to allocate gates nearest to premium lounges. Star Alliance premium passengers and elite frequent flyers also will use the same Spanair lounge from September. In addition, all Star members at Barcelona are using the same baggage service facility in arrivals.

Oneworld is scheduled to consolidate to a single terminal at Barcelona as well by the end of the summer season.

However, joining forces under a single roof is still proving difficult at many airports, owing to such constraints as space and whether airports organize carriers according to their immigration procedures. For example, although five Star Alliance airlines moved from T2 at London Heathrow last month to join seven partners already in place at T1, the nine Star carriers still at T3 will not move across until 2013.

"We want to consolidate wherever it makes sense and the opportunity exists," said a Oneworld spokesman. "Some airports have different terminals for short-haul and long-haul airlines, or Schengen (a borderless travel agreement between 25 European countries) and non-Schengen airlines. We will try at least to bring connecting services together."

Consolidations at European airports that have taken place or are imminent are:

Oneworld
Helsinki: T1
London Heathrow: T3 and T5 (starting winter 2009 schedule)
Madrid: T4

SkyTeam
London Heathrow: T4 (starting winter 2009 schedule)
Madrid: T1 for long-haul flights and T2 for short-haul flights
Moscow Sheremetyevo: T3 (starting November 2009)
Paris Charles de Gaulle: T2

Star Alliance
Barcelona: T1
Frankfurt: T1
London Heathrow: T1 and T3 (all Star members relocate to a new T2 in 2014)
Munich: T2
Paris CDG: T1, except Austrian and Air Canada (both T2)
Warsaw: T2