Thursday, August 20, 2009



A name-change meant to deceive travellers

We read:
"A row erupted in Britain on Monday over the rebranding of Oxford Airport as London Oxford Airport - despite being 60 miles from the capital's centre. Officials said they hoped the rebranding of the airport at Kidlington near Oxford in southeast England would raise its international profile and attract more passengers.

But heritage campaigners slammed the rebranding as insulting, saying historic Oxford city, with its prestigious university, did not need to be seen as an offshoot of the British capital. "Good grief. Oxford is a great place in its own right and I find it insulting it is being considered just another offshoot of London," said Ros Weatherall, from the Oxford Civic Society. "Trying to make Oxford seem like a suburb of London is very misleading...

Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses in the area around Oxford, said it was a "good idea" which could benefit the whole region. "Oxford and Oxfordshire is a place in its own right but you're linking tourism and business and it's an excellent business opportunity," said Claire Prosser, the chamber's policy executive.

Eight airports currently use the capital's name including London Stansted Airport, which is about 40 miles from the capital and London Luton Airport, 35 miles away.

Source

There's only one airport in London: Heathrow. Thanks to a fast and frequent express rail connection to central London, Gatwick is also pretty convenient. Gatwick is 28 miles South of London. The train goes at about 100mph so it is a fun ride.

4 comments:

Ed said...

That's like the little landing spot in my town. It's called the Greater All**** Municipal Airport. It is about 300 acres of open cow field, no runway, no lights, no tower and one big metal pole building that serves as a hanger, office and snack bar.

ED

Phil In Cow Town said...

What kind of idiot would fly to a place without looking on a map to see where the hell it is first?

Besides which, as Jon said, there's an excellent high-speed train network in the UK. So at 100 mph, 60 miles would take about 36 minutes. You'd be in London within an hour.

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Actually JJR I think you will find that London City Airport is also an airport in London (even if it is only STOL)