2 February 2017


Scotland needs once new capacity becomes available. This includes work- ing with easyJet to start new flights to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness, and working with the Scot- tish Government to connect Dundee to Heathrow for the first time. A spokesman for AGS Airports,


owner of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports, said: “We have consistently supported the expan- sion of Heathrow on the basis of the onward connectivity it provides and the fact it’s the UK’s only hub airport. It plays an important role in sup- porting the Scottish economy, so it is imperative that an expanded Heath- row delivers further access for both Aberdeen and Glasgow airports.” Inglis Lyon, managing director


of Highlands and Islands Airports, added: “This is the right decision for Scotland. If business and tourism are going to continue to thrive in the Highlands, then we need access to the rest of the world - a quality connection to a hub airport like Heathrow is vital.”


INTERNATIONAL competition for jobs and trade has never been more intense. A country’s success in this global race depends on the strength of its links with existing and poten- tial markets in Asia, Africa and the Americas. The aviation debate isn’t just about laying concrete – the UK is full of runways with enough point-to- point capacity to last 100 years. This debate is about how the UK maintains its status as a global aviation hub. With a national asset like Heathrow, which can reach these far-off markets with frequent and direct flights, Scotland and the rest of the UK has a huge com- petitive advantage. Heathrow is the best-located hub airport in the world with 95% of the global economy within range of a direct flight.


FLYBE


HEATHROW


3


Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, the principal aircraft on the new routes


Greater choice, lower fares


Increasing Scotland’s connections with the US, Asia, Africa and the Middle East


BY WILLIAM PEAKIN


“Heathrow has undertaken a huge amount of work in terms of measuring the potential benefits to Scotland” Garry Clark


As the UK’s only hub airport, Heath-


row is a national asset. Only six air- ports in the world have regular flights to over 50 long haul destinations – with 82 it shows how rare and valuable Heathrow is to the UK. Leisure and business passengers can access 81 dif- ferent airlines and airline alliances to 180 destinations in 85 countries. A hub benefits passengers, airlines


and business because it brings together domestic traffic (from Scot- land and the rest of the UK) together with short haul traffic (from European airports) and freight to ensure more people and goods are pooled together. This pool of passengers and freight fills the spare capacity of each plane and makes long haul routes more viable for airlines. The additional route then helps British businesses access new markets and creates more opportunities for trading, boosting local economies across the UK.


Flybe, Europe’s largest regional air- line, is heading to Heathrow for the first time to connect the UK’s largest international airport with Scotland, offering a choice of more than 40 scheduled flights a week from Aber- deen and Edinburgh. The new routes, operating from 26 March, comple- ment Flybe’s well-established London City flights from the two Scottish airports. The route expansion means that,


from 26 March, Flybe will offer up to 18 flights a day between London and Edinburgh, and 10 between London and Aberdeen. Flights are conveniently timed for both business and leisure travel and fares are from £39.99 including taxes and charges. Travel industry observers say that the new flights are already having an effect; pushing down the average cost for travellers on the route. “Flybe’s new route to Heathrow


is a real bonus for Scottish travel- lers,” said Malcolm Ginsberg, editor in chief of Business Travel News. “British Airways has already reduced its fares in the face of what will be strong competition.” He added: “International flyers to and from Aberdeen and Edinburgh via Heath- row will no longer have to transfer from the airport’s Terminal 5 to the Central Area if their onward carrier is other than BA. “The new services go into Termi-


nal 2, the home of the Star Alliance airline grouping, and even if the


next flight is Terminal 3 on Virgin Atlantic, or its Delta Airline partner, it is a very simple process to follow the Flight Connection signs and take a very short bus ride. At T3 Upper Class passengers can take advantage of the splendid Virgin Clubhouse.” The advantages will be more than


just convenience: “Improving the connections into Heathrow from all around the UK will be vital in help- ing to secure the economic future of communities in every corner of the nation,” said Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye. “The measures we’re introducing, such as the £10 reduction on domestic pas- senger charges, are already working to secure vital links. More airlines fly- ing routes to Scottish airports means more flights, more competition and choice for families, and more visitors to Scotland. “With Flybe based at Terminal


2, it also means additional direct access from Heathrow to markets such Colombia, Taipei and Auckland – meaning more opportunity for Scottish businesses looking to reach new export markets.”


JAMES BREAM, research and policy director at Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “Our connections to global markets are vital to the continuing prosperity of the North-east, with more than half of our members rating access to Heath- row as either important or critical to their business. Over half of Oil & Gas business is done in international markets “Our Chamber declared its sup-


port for Heathrow expansion, the airport was willing to put its money where its mouth is by supporting the North-east with connections. Flybe’s recent decision gives more choice to


our members, should be seen as a vote of confidence in the region and supplements the existing support of British Airways.” Flybe will be using Heathrow’s


Terminal 2 and will offer ‘One Stop to the World’ connectivity to its code- share and interline partners. Last month, Virgin Atlantic and Flybe announced they were extending their codeshare agreement to include Heathrow. The new Flybe flights from Aberdeen and Edinburgh will connect customers onto Virgin Atlantic flights to the US, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Travellers from Scotland can now


book flights to international destina- tions including Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai – thanks to closer cooperation between Virgin Atlantic and Europe’s leading regional airline, Flybe. The new Flybe codeshare flights to Heathrow will operate from 26 March – offer-


ing four services per day from Edinburgh Airport, and up to three services per day from Aberdeen Airport. The agreement will mean custom-


ers can seamlessly connect between Flybe and Virgin Atlantic with a single check in and bag drop. It will also open many new destinations for Scottish travellers, and help boost inbound tourism and investment.


ERIK VARWIJK, executive vice-pres- ident commercial at Virgin Atlantic commented: “Our partnership with Flybe will bring the world a little closer to Scotland with exciting new Virgin Atlantic destinations available across the US, Asia, and Africa. We look forward to offering easy connec- tions to some of our most popular destinations such as the US cities of San Francisco and Boston, as well as helping to boost business and invest- ment with access to major hubs such as Hong Kong and Dubai.” Vincent Hodder, Flybe’s chief


‘With Flybe based at Terminal 2, it also means more opportunity for Scottish businesses looking to reach new export markets” John Holland-Kaye


revenue officer, added: “Flybe is especially delighted that this extension of our valued codeshare partnership with Virgin will enable us to better serve Scottish travellers and global visitors, further realising our ambition of being a ‘One Stop to the World’ for the UK regions. “We greatly look forward to


cementing our commitment to Scotland and welcoming even more Virgin passengers on board our new Heathrow flights from Aberdeen and Edinburgh when they start at the end of March.” Virgin Atlantic offers flights


from London Heathrow to Atlanta, Boston, Delhi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lagos, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai and Washington.


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