JD Wetherspoon to open its sixth Heathrow airport pub
Managed pub giant JD Wetherspoon is set to open a new site at London's Heathrow airport.
The pub, called the Flying Chariot, will open in the revamped Terminal 2 when it opens on 4 June 2014.
The new outlet will be Wetherspoon's sixth at Heathrow, and will create 50 full-time and part-time jobs, with an investment of £1.3m.
Wetherspoon said the design of the pub would echo the Heathrow control tower, designed by Richard Rogers as well as a number of "aerodynamic fluid forms" to give the pub the feel of aircraft and modern engineering.
Customers will be able to look out over the runway and boarding gates using fixed telescopes.
The Flying Chariot will have an open kitchen, a dedicated deli and coffee area for fast fresh meals, a coffee lounge area, as well as table service in area behind the bar. There will be an emphasis on real ale with a range of kegs on display.
Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said; "We are looking forward to opening The Flying Chariot at Heathrow‘s Terminal 2.
"Our pubs have enjoyed great success across the airport and we are delighted to have been chosen to open a Wetherspoon pub within this major development.
"The Flying Chariot will have a number of original design features which will enable it to stand out from the crowd.
"We believe that the pub will be a major asset to the UK's hub airport."
Heathrow's retail director, Muriel Zingraff, said: "Heathrow is steeped in history having begun operation in 1946 as a temporary village of tents for passengers.
"The latest concept by Wetherspoon's is a lovely way to celebrate our airport's past and the world's continued enthusiasm for flight.
"The Flying Chariot will be a striking feature for Terminal 2 and a wonderful way for departing passengers to start their journey from Heathrow."
The pub takes its name from a comment in a book written by the Rector of Cranford Parish Church, Doctor John Wilkins, titled ‘Discovery of a New World in the Moon' (1638).
In the book he states that it should be possible "to make a flying chariot, in which a man may sit, and give such motion unto it, as shall convey him through the air."
The pub will be one of 67 shops, bars and restaurants at Terminal 2. The old Terminal 2 opened in 1955 and shut after 54 years in 2009. It was Heathrow's first terminal, originally called the ‘Europa Building'. It was renamed Terminal 2 when Terminal 1 opened in 1969.
