The airport’s new terminal has now been open for three months. Robin Searle spoke to Bob Schumacher, chairman of Star Alliance’s UK Steering Committee, about a successful opening
Turn back the clock just over three months and you could have forgiven the 23 Star Alliance members preparing to move into Heathrow’s new Terminal 2 for feeling a certain sense of trepidation.
The teething problems encountered during the airport’s previous big opening – Terminal 5 – had been well-documented. And nobody wanted a repeat.
Wind forward to the present day, and with nine member airlines installed, and 14 scheduled to move in over the next two months, the sense of a job so far well done is palpable.
Bob Schumacher, chairman of the Star Alliance UK Steering Committee and managing director sales, UK & Ireland, for the terminal’s first tenant, United, is unequivocal in his praise.
“It has been a triumph from a United perspective and from a Star Alliance perspective,” he says. “The new Terminal 2 has been a game-changer for Heathrow, for the alliance and for connectivity in the UK, and we feel like the cat that got the cream.”
Schumacher says the decision to stagger the introduction of the alliance’s 23 airlines in addition to Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red, Aer Lingus and Germanwings over a six-month period had proven to be a canny move.
“The opening has been in the headlines for all the right reasons and it has helped to reposition UK plc,” he says.
“The life of hard knocks dealt Heathrow a tough blow last time [during the opening of Terminal 5] but the host of trials carried out before opening and the decision to implement a staggered approach has ensured there has been no repeat.”
Positive feedback
Schumacher said feedback from United passengers had been overwhelmingly positive, and said the travel trade had also responded well to the removal of many of the complexities of booking flights from and through Heathrow.
He says: “We are seeing the regeneration of Heathrow as a hub airport, and this has radically changed the perception of flying through Heathrow. It has removed the confusion of airlines using different terminals and created a viable option from the regions.
“Alongside Heathrow, we can now go beyond the southeast and get this message out to the rest of Britain and Northern Ireland.”
He adds: “This is a 21st-century facility which has empowered our customers, and the trade’s customers, to make their own choices. If they choose, the first contact a passenger can have (with airline staff) can be on the aeroplane itself, but they can also have the full-touch service if that’s what they prefer.”
The power of alliances
For Schumacher, the benefits of bringing the 23 members under one roof offer a compelling argument for the viability of airline alliances.
“It [the future of alliances] is a current topic, but whatever happens, Star Alliance and the competing alliances will continue to be relevant,” he explains.
“You can only achieve so much organic growth, and that is where our partners come in. Terminal 2 demonstrates that alliances certainly haven’t had their day.”
He adds: “You will see changes in economic models and you will see joint ventures, but alliances are alive and well and that is proved by Terminal 2.”
Next steps
As chairman of Star Alliance’s UK Steering Committee, Schumacher will have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the positive momentum generated by the opening of Terminal 2 continues.
A celebration event is being planned for the trade towards the end of the year, when the final carrier has moved in. And representatives of all the member airlines are in discussions about how best to ensure the alliance’s use of Terminal 2 is understood by the trade and customers alike.
“The move has been an unqualified success, but we can’t assume that because we have lived and breathed it for the past year or more the job is done,” he says.
“We have a state-of-the-art facility which is the equal of anything in the world, and we need to ensure we continue to get that message out.”