oneworld airlines at Madrid move into EUR 6 billion, world-class new Terminal 4, improving service and transfers

01 febbraio 2006

All oneworldTM member airlines serving Madrid will move into the airport's EUR 6 billion new Terminal 4 on Sunday (5 February) in what will be the alliance's biggest and most significant co-location move yet.

Madrid is home base of the oneworld member Iberia and the alliance's main gateway between Europe and Latin America. Five of the alliance's other partners also fly there - American Airlines, British Airways, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus - along with members elect Malév and Royal Jordanian.

Currently, these airlines operate from two different terminals at the city's Barajas airport. Between them, they carried some 25 million passengers to and from Madrid last year - seven in every ten of the airport's entire throughput. They will account for 90 per cent of the new terminal's passengers, with the rest flying on a number of unaligned carriers.

oneworld member airlines currently operate a total of 650 arriving and departing flights a day at Madrid, connecting the airport with more than a hundred destinations in 42 countries worldwide.

Their move into the state-of-the-art Terminal 4 will improve the airport experience for all oneworld passengers travelling to or from the Spanish capital, with the smoothest of transfers for those connecting between alliance member airlines' flights, at what will be one of the world's most modern, passenger-friendly and efficient airport facilities.

 

After the last of their flights have departed on Saturday 4 February, the airlines will transfer to the new facility overnight, ready to start service there first thing on the morning of Sunday 5 February. Member elect Malév will move across to join them in late March.

Terminal 4 comprises two buildings - the main terminal and its satellite to the south, either side of one the airports four runways. The two facilities are connected by an underground high-speed people mover, departing every three minutes (two minutes at peak times) and taking less than four minutes to complete the journey.

Most domestic and European "Schengen" country flights will operate from the main terminal building, while longhaul services and some European flights will depart from the Terminal 4 Satellite (T4S).

So Iberia services will depart from the main Terminal 4 or from T4S, depending on their destination. All flights by Finnair will operate from the main Terminal 4. All services by Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, LAN, Malév and Royal Jordanian will operate from the satellite.

All check-in and baggage collection, together with security, will be in the main terminal building, even for flights operating to or from the satellite. Passport control will be in T4S.

Passengers flying with American Airlines, British Airways or LAN will check-in at counters in the northern zone of the main terminal. Those flying with any of the other oneworld carriers will be able to check in at the Iberia counters in the main body of the terminal.

Minimum check-in times will vary by airline. Those flying on Iberia will need to check-in at least 45 minutes before departure for flights from the main terminal, and 55 minutes before departure for those from the satellite. Minimum check-in time for its Barcelona shuttle will be 20 minutes. British Airways will apply the same limit for those with check-in baggage, but ten minutes less for those with carry-on baggage only. Minimum check-in time for American Airlines will be 60 minutes.

Minimum connecting times for flights within the terminal - which means transfers between all oneworld flights - will be similar to today, but smoother for passengers with no transfers required between separate terminals.

 

Iberia will open three new lounges at the terminal for premium passengers and emerald or sapphire tier cardholders in any oneworld member airline's frequent flyer programme - all named after famous Spanish artists:

  • Sala Dali, in the main terminal will be for travellers on Schengen and domestic flights, including Iberia's Barcelona shuttle. Covering 1.857 sq metres, it will have a capacity for 370 people.
  • Sala Goya, in the satellite will be for passengers travelling on Schengen flights from there. With a capacity for 100 people, it will cover 567 sq metres.
  • Sala Velázquez, in the satellite, will be the biggest lounge, covering 2.150 sq metres and with a capacity for 360 passengers, it will be for travellers on flights to points outside the Schengen agreement area.

They will offer bars, high-speed wi-fi PC connections, showers, business centres, rooms for meetings and for relaxation, telephones and televisions.

oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch said: "oneworld prides itself on the quality of its member airlines. Madrid's magnificent Terminal 4 provides us with ground facilities to match at the alliance's main gateway between Europe and Latin America - a world-class building which will transform the airport experience for passengers travelling with our airlines to and from the Spanish capital."

About Madrid Terminal 4

Terminal 4 (T4) and its satellite (T4S) will almost double the capacity of Madrid Barajas, adding capacity for 35 million passengers a year.

The buildings were designed by world renowned architects Richard Rodgers Partnership in association with the Spanish architect Antonio Lamela.

The departure hall in the main terminal will be equipped with 172 check-in desks, including two for special luggage, and ranks of shared self-service kiosks.

With a floor surface of 470.000 m sq, the main terminal is 1,13 km long. It has 38 gates and capacity for 20 million passengers a year.

To help them reach the correct gates, the gates are all colour coded – deep blue in the north of the building, changing gradually to deep red, through the full colour of the rainbow, as you get to the far south. Signs will prominently display walking times to gates throughout the terminal and satellite.

The satellite T4S is 930 meters long, with a floor space of 287.000 sq m and capacity for 15 million passengers a year. It has 26 gates, 16 of them providing double piers.

The automatic people mover (APM) connecting the two buildings covers a distance of 2,1 kms. It has a capacity for 13.000 passengers an hour.

Among the new facility's many innovations is its new automated baggage system, with capacity for 16.500 items an hour. Its track will cover a network extending more than 90 kms.

Outside, the road approaches to the main terminal building will provide 12 lanes – six each for departures and arrivals. In each case, three lanes will be dedicated to taxis, two to buses and one for private vehicles. Its car park will have space for 9.000 cars.

The Madrid Metro is currently being extended to the new terminal, which will have its own station, due to open during the second half of this year. Until then, passengers using the Metro will need to connect by coach at the existing terminals.

With two new runways also opening at Madrid Barajas at the same time as Terminal 4, the airport will be able to increase its aircraft movements from 78 to 120 an hour and almost double its passenger capacity, to 70 million passengers a year.

About oneworld at Madrid

 

 

Passengers in 2005

Weekly departures and arrivals

Number of destinations served

Current terminal

Terminal from 5 February

Aer Lingus

Not available

12

1

1

4S

American Airlines

140.000

14

1

1

4S

British Airways

Not available

152

4

1

4S

Finnair

85.000

14

2

2

4S

Iberia

21.865.000

4.205

100

1, 2, 3

4 and 4S

LAN

285.000

14

3

1

4S

Malév

60.000

14

1

1

4S

Royal Jordanian

22.000

8

1

1

4S

TOTAL

Almost 25 million

4.433

More than a hundred

1, 2, 3

4 and 4S

 

 

Malév will transfer to T4S in late March.

About oneworld

Together, oneworld's members:

  • Carried more than 240 million passengers last year.
  • Operate more than 8.000 departures a day on a fleet of some 2.000 aircraft.
  • Offer more alliance fare and sales products than any of its competitors, earning almost US$600 million for its member airlines last year, with all passengers transferring between oneworld members generating revenues totalling US$1.6 billion in the year.
  • Earned more than US$60 billion in revenues in their last full financial years, with oneworld activities generating one in every US$30 dollar earned by its member airlines from passenger services.
  • Provide top frequent flyers and premium passengers with some 400 airport lounges worldwide.

oneworld is the only alliance whose members achieved a collective profit last year – more than US$1.3 billion net, against combined losses by Star carriers totalling almost US$3.6 billion and an overall deficit by SkyTeam's members of some US$6.3 billion.

Since April 2005, it has been the only alliance to enable customers to transfer between flights by all of its member airlines using electronic tickets.

oneworld has won more top international awards for airline alliances than both its competitors combined - voted the world's best airline alliance for the second year running by readers of Business Traveller magazine in its 2005 poll and earlier this month named the World's Leading Airline Alliance for the third year running in the 2005 World Travel Awards, based on votes cast by travel professionals from more than 200 countries.

Images

Pictures of Terminal 4 can be downloaded from oneworld.com/gallery in high resolution format.

ends