Historic trends show that London Heathrow is the airport most airlines want to serve in the UK capital and despite a number of smaller operators moving their operations to other London facilities over the past couple of decades, the international hub airport remains in high demand by the world’s airlines.
According to the airport’s chief executive officer, John Holland-Kaye, there are more than 30 airlines currently seeking access to London Heathrow, an issue that will only be overcome with further expansion at the heavily slot constrained facility.
The airport is currently battling with its former sister airport, London Gatwick, to be the location of a new Runway for London to alleviate air capacity issues into the city and the South East of England. The Airports Commission, tasked with finding a solution, has shortlisted two options to expand Heathrow and one for a second runway at Gatwick with a decision due after next month’s general election in the UK.
We are ready to deliver the only runway that can connect all of Britain to global growth. All we need is a quick decision, so let’s get on with it,” said Holland-Kaye.
“Heathrow is a fantastic airport and a great front door for Britain. We’re a business that’s delivering an unrivalled passenger experience in western Europe, we’ve got over 30 airlines knocking on our door waiting to serve the UK’s hub, our world-class shareholders are lined up to privately fund expansion and with an additional runway we will create 40,000 new skilled and well-paid jobs for the local community,” he added.
The statement about the long queue of airlines seeking access to Heathrow was made as it was revealed that the airport boosted capacity by 2.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 versus the same period last year. The airport handled 16.4 million passengers over the three month period against 16.0 million in 2014 and saw Vietnam Airlines become the latest airline to move its London operations from Gatwick to Heathrow.
Heathrow also delivered a strong first quarter financial performance with revenue increasing 8.0 per cent to £622 million and EBITDA up 7.2 per cent to £342 million. Net retail income per passenger also grew by 5.6 per cent from £6.42 in the first quarter of 2014 to £6.78 in the first three months of this year.
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