JD Wetherspoon to open sixth site at Heathrow

The pub, to be named The Flying Chariot, is to open on 4 June 2014 and will create 50 full and part time jobs.

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.

Wetherspoons said a heavy emphasis is being placed on the design, with the Heathrow control tower referenced as well as a number of aerodynamic fluid forms to give the pub the feel of aircraft and modern engineering. There will be a tower that can be accessed from the customer area and customers will be able to look out over the runway and boarding gates using fixed telescopes.

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”.