2 February 2017


PARTNERSHIP


HEATHROW


5


Jim Walker and his brother Joe. The company employs more than 1,700 people at peak times at six factories in Speyside and its products are now distributed in over 90 countries


customers regularly use it to visit us. Heathrow is also a great shop window for our brand looking out on to the world; the retail and duty free side puts our products in front of a global audience.” Partnership between Heathrow and


Scotland is a recurring theme; towards the end of last year, Edinburgh-based flight search firm Skyscanner worked with the airport to create the first comparison tool within social media, ‘Go Heathrow’. Created through Skyscanner’s White Label platform, it is the first time an airport has offered travel search technology to users within Facebook.


GO HEATHROW allows Facebook users to search and book their Heathrow flights directly from the social media page. The tool is easy to use and is designed to ensure users find the most competitive fares for their chosen destination across a wide range of airline and travel websites. It is the first time Heathrow has directly supported airline partners with ticket sales, bringing together over 180 destinations in 85 countries from the airport together in one place. “[It] gives Heathrow passengers a


useful and innovative tool for getting the best fares and journey plan that suits their individual needs,” said head


of passenger communications, Marc Ellams. “This new technology aims to make planning the next adventure as simple as possible, bringing the world to our customers’ fingertips.” Mike Ferguson, senior commercial manager for Skyscanner added: “This travel search mechanism represents an exciting new way for travellers to engage with Heathrow and find their next holiday, all within their Facebook feed.” Heathrow’s partnership with the


nations and regions of the UK is also set to result in £500m of savings for leisure and business travellers, through the reduction in domestic passenger charges by £10 - more than a third compared with last year. The discount is a key part of Heathrow’s plan to encourage growth outside London by making it cheaper to travel beyond the capital and is scheduled to last up to twenty years. Airlines are already responding


to the new discounted charges, with Flybe launching new domestic routes from Scotland to Heathrow, beginning next month, that will increase choice and competition for families and busi- ness. The airport commissioned eco-


nomic consultancy Frontier to carry out research into the impact of the discount, which revealed that pas-


sengers flying to Edinburgh could save the most money at an estimated £130m over 20 years. This is followed by Aberdeen (£82m), Glasgow (£73m) and Inverness (£23m).


“Heathrow is a great shop window for our brand looking out on to the world” Jim Walker


THE AIRPORT IS also working with SMEs on a strategic level, via its annual business summits, including one in Glasgow. The goal of Heath- row, as Britain’s international gateway to the world, is to enable more and more UK SMEs to connect to new opportunities for growth locally, nationally and internationally. For nearly 20 years, it has been creat- ing new opportunities for business through the Heathrow Business Summit. Since these events began, companies have won new business worth an estimated £90m. Opportunities at the summit, which


was preceded by events around the UK, including Glasgow, comprise partnering with procurement and sup- ply management specialists to assist SMEs with advice on how to maximise procurement opportunities with Heathrow; and connecting SMEs to international markets by making the most of its supply, export and growth opportunities. Ian Ballentine, the airport’s procure-


ment director, said, “Heathrow is a cornerstone of the UK’s economic


security, connecting businesses of all sizes with international markets across the globe. “As a national asset, we are in a


unique position to connect SMEs to local, national and international markets, and with expansion we now have the opportunity to do even more. Heathrow expansion will create up to £211 billion in economic growth and up to 180,000 jobs across the UK.” By forging connections, the summit


is an opportunity for all UK SMEs to use the airport’s international presence to project their brand and ingenuity globally. The economic value that was created with the construction of the new Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal gives a taste of the potential that expansion at Heathrow will gener- ate across the UK. It created 34,000 jobs in infrastructure, engineering and construction and Heathrow used hundreds of suppliers to deliver the £2.5bn infrastructure project, of which many were small and medium-sized businesses. “Heathrow expansion will create


up to £211bn of economic growth and 180,000 jobs across the whole UK. Scotland alone will see £14bn of growth and 16,000 new Scottish jobs. This is a significant prize.” said Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye.


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