London City Airport talks aviation: 'In the city, there’s a thousand things I want to say to you'.

British band The Jam's debut single included the lyrics: "In the city, there's a thousand things I want to say to you… In the city there's a thousand faces all shining bright, and those golden faces are under 25".

London's City Airport is no longer growing with the youthful energy captured by The Jam. Indeed, it turned 25 last year, but it has matured into a successful airport with an increasingly diversified route portfolio. Business routes remain very important, but you are now also likely to find business people there looking to recapture their lost youth in one of the several leisure destinations served.

In London City, there might not be a thousand things to say, but it does reflect a number of key trends and issues in European aviation today: airline consolidation, the battle between the alliances, EU liberalisation, capacity constraints, the importance of high yield passengers, the development of surface infrastructure and the shift to new generation aircraft technology are all evident at the airport.

The only shining bright faces that are missing are the low-cost carriers.