A cornucopia of news, opinion, views, facts and quirky bits that need to be talked about. Join our community and join in the conversation on all matters aviation. The blog includes our weekly round-up of the bits of European aviation you may otherwise have missed – That Was The Week That Was
Search
Categories
Month of Issue
Few surprises in reactions to the Heathrow decision
The decision as to whether to build an additional runway at Heathrow is increasingly likely to a political – rather than an economic – decision. Therefore, the various affected parties have all been busy publically voicing their opinions on the recommendations set out in the Davies Report. And it is all very predictable.
It goes without saying that IAG opposes the expansion. The owners of BA understand that their dominance at Heathrow, especially during peak periods, is under threat. Their official concern is that the expansion would be ‘outrageously’ expensive. Heathrow shouldn’t take this too personally. IAG seem to be against any expansion in airport capacity in the South East that would interfere with its plans, following the takeover of Aer Lingus, to set up a hub at Dublin Airport for the Europe-America transfer market.
Gatwick, who came a close second in the Davies Report, has also dismissed the report’s recommendations. In its view, a second runway at Gatwick would provide the same benefits as the Heathrow option but at a lower cost. Gatwick has clearly read the report in detail, with specific criticism of some of the analysis undertaken by the Airports Commission.
Davies does have some supporters, including (obviously) Heathrow Airport as well as Easyjet. Following the report’s publication, Heathrow announced with some bravado that it was moving into the delivery phase for the new runway. Easyjet also welcomed the recommendation and, perhaps slightly prematurely, revealed a number of additional routes it will offer from its new base at Heathrow.
Ryanair, as ever, was predictably unpredictable. Its reaction to the Davies report was to suggest that Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted should all be allowed to build new runways. It’s an interesting (albeit politically unrealistic) idea. However, Ryanair should be applauded for offering a completely different view from the rest of the industry and for the market-driven, rather than regulator-driven, nature of its response.
A decision on the third runway at Heathrow is expected by the end of the year. In the meantime, the debate continues.
