Andrea Crisp: January 2006 Archives

The air was blue the other day when Airline Business went for an exclusive interview with the senior management team from Air Malta. One minute we were discussing the airline's restructuring efforts and their culture of change. The next minute we ventured the question, how has the price of fuel affected Air Malta?

"Don't mention the F-word!" said Joe Cappello (right), chief operating officer and Manchester United football enthusiast. Although joking, the question obviously rankles. Now two years into their turnaround programme  and the airline would be starting to edge towards the black - if not for the Lm3 million ($8.5 million) rise in its fuel bill.

"If it wasn't for fuel costs we would be laughing all the way to the bank," says chairman Lawrence Zammit (left).

"Well, at least smiling," corrects Cappello.

Heathrow's new terminal has the pithy moniker T5. Marseille has adopted the name mp2 for its new terminal. So what does Singapore Changi airport call its new budget terminal? None too surprisingly, they've called it Budget Terminal.

You certainly can't accuse them of being overly flowery with the title. It's almost as if they've taken the concept of low cost all the way to the actual naming of the terminal, saving money on the usual creative bods and drafting in ground staff to come up with the name and paying them in beer.

And that isn't so far from the truth: the name Budget Terminal was actually selected from among 12,000 entries submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in its Low Cost Terminal Naming Contest. Heaven knows the calibre of the other 11,999 entries if Budget Terminal was the winner. But I digress.

The Minister for Transport Yeo Cheow Tong announced the winning name today as works on the terminal were officially completed. "This is a significant moment for Changi airport. Low-cost carriers today account for approximately 10% of Changi airport's total passenger flights, and will be a high-growth segment of the civil aviation sector in the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years," said Minister Yeo.

The 25,000m² terminal will be open for operations on 26 March and will initially be able to handle about 2.7 million passengers per annum, with scope to accommodate up to 5 million. Construction costs of the terminal come in at around S$45 million ($28 million).

CAAS intends to keep operating costs low at the new terminal to meet the needs of its budget carriers. Passengers will however have access to money changers, internet terminals, duty-free shopping, food outlets and a free shuttle to Changi's existing terminals.

The CAAS claims building of the terminal is in response to a growing number of low-cost carriers in the region and firm commitment from Tiger Airways that it would use such a terminal.

As the pictures show, Budget Terminal is suitably basic, as it should be.