Air India, a member of Star Alliance, has moved all its operations from London Heathrow’s Terminal 4 to Terminal 2, the home of Star Alliance. The national airline of India operates up to eight daily flights in and out of Heathrow with either Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and has been serving London for nearly 70 years. At present Air India offers two daily flights to Delhi, one daily flight to Mumbai, four weekly flights to Ahmedabad and three weekly flights to Newark (New York).
Jeffrey Goh, CEO, Star Alliance said, “With 24 of our member airlines flying to Heathrow, the airport is served by more Star Alliance member carriers than any other airport in our worldwide network. Therefore our long term strategy for Heathrow has always been to locate all our members under the same roof. With Air India’s successful move to the Queen’s Terminal we have now accomplished this.”
Compared to Terminal 4, the check-in layout and concept in Terminal 2 allows customers to take greater control of their journey. This has been made possible through a combination of increased automation and common check-in.
Travellers who have not checked in online can use any of 81 multi-airline check-in kiosks available throughout Terminal 2. These also print boarding passes and bag tags. Once checked-in, Air India passengers can drop off their bags at the shared counters in Zone D. Customers requiring additional support and assistance or travelling in First Class, Business Class or holding Star Alliance Gold status will also find the respective counters in Zone D.
Air India customers travelling in either First or Business Class or holding Star Alliance Gold status can make use of any of the four lounges in Terminal 2 operated by fellow Star Alliance member airlines Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and United.
Goh added, “Ever since we started operations from Terminal 2 at Heathrow, we have been receiving very positive customer feedback on the new facility. We are certain that the approximately 1,000 Air India passengers who will be using Terminal 2 every day will notice a significant improvement in their travel experience. This will especially be true for the several hundred passengers who connect between Air India and other Star Alliance carriers via Heathrow on a daily basis. They can now do this in the comfort of a single terminal, rather than using buses to transfer across the airport.”
