“There are six airports with more than 50 long-haul destinations.
doesn’t happen instantly.” Some have suggested that hubs are
going out of fashion, with smaller, more passenger-friendly airports coming to the fore and new-generation aircraft like the Boeing 787 offering more point-to-point options. But Matthews does not buy this argument. “Ninety per cent of 787 orders have gone
Heathrow is one of the world’s six biggest hubs
to network carriers – those that run hub and spoke models. There will certainly be a route that used to stop at Heathrow which will fly overhead instead, but there will be another that comes to Heathrow because the 787 makes it work. I suspect on balance it will be neutral or slightly positive for us.” Heathrow has been scathing about major
BA gained Heathrow slots when it bought Bmi
rival Gatwick’s attempt to establish long- haul services, saying that it has lost 20 since 2008 – many to Heathrow. Matthews naturally dismisses Gatwick’s argument for a “constellation approach” to London’s aviation needs similar to New York, which has three major airports. “Relatively speaking, New York is poorly
Heathrow is within easy reach for London’s businesses
connected. It has fewer long-haul destinations than Frankfurt and fewer short-haul than Atlanta. If you want to go to the Midwest, go through Chicago or Atlanta. I don’t think many people would transfer from JFK to La Guardia given the choice. Shanghai, similarly, has two airports, but passengers don’t transfer there when they can go to Hong Kong.” Matthews says Gatwick is “a great
airport” and he is happy about it having a second runway, but argues that this does not address the need for hub capacity. “Just look what Tokyo discovered 30 years ago when it moved the international flights from Haneda to Narita and kept the domestic ones at Haneda. Japan went from being the leading hub in Asia to nowhere. Our point is not to say that Gatwick should not have a second runway, we are saying that it does not address the need for hub capacity.” Whichever airports are in December’s
Visualisation of the south-west option for a third runway at Heathrow
“Two-thirds of the country’s international companies are within
25 miles of Heathrow” Colin Matthews
“Two-thirds of the country’s international companies are within 25 miles of Heathrow. We are hard-wired into where business is.” Matthews believes the need to defend
Heathrow, as one of the world’s six big hubs, is paramount. “We are one of the most important travel cities. A third runway will give us enough capacity until 2040-50. It’s just not true that the moment you have a third runway it is full.” He admits the picture after that is unclear, given the growth of the Gulf hubs. He says it is “not possible to say” if a fourth runway will be needed.
Slow growth British Airways has been Heathrow’s keenest backer in lobbying for more capacity, but having been given a host of
Heathrow’s terminals offer world-class shopping
slots from its 2011 purchase of BMI (some 11% of the airport’s capacity), it has only launched three new long-haul destinations: Seoul, Chengdu and Austin. Matthews dismisses suggestions that this means BA or other carriers have no interest in starting new routes to emerging markets such as Asia and South America. “There’s a simple equation. BA needs two
to 2.5 short-haul flights to fill a single long- haul. BMI gained it 54 slots and they had to surrender 25%, so they have around 36. Over a period of time you might expect a dozen new long-haul destinations, but that
shortlist, many, like International Airlines Group chief executive Willie Walsh have been scathing about the commission’s likely effectiveness. Walsh said it would produce the best report of its kind that the UK “has ever seen”, but added it would then be given to politicians “who won’t do anything”. Matthews’ more measured response may hide similar frustrations. “It’s one thing to produce the report, it’s another to have the political coherence to deliver it. The planning cycle is longer than the political cycle, so in that context you need cross-party support.” Pressed on his hopes for a consensus, he adds: “It’s difficult but not unprecedented. If every bit of infrastructure is tied up in this way, the end position for the country is intolerable, so I think it has to happen.”
n Hear Colin Matthews speak in today’s Airport Debate at 2.30-3.30pm in WTM Knowledge Theatre, GV750
06.11.2013 35
We have something close to 90 – that is a remarkable thing.” COLIN MATTHEWS, HEATHROW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
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