'The central problem lies with the hub-and-spoke model itself, which assumes that Heathrow will attract more business and be more efficient if it acts as an interchange for passengers en route to other destinations. This model was pioneered by Federal Express in the 1970s, when the postal firm began flying packages from a central hub in Memphis.
When the US passenger airline industry was deregulated in 1978, the big airlines followed the FedEx model to fend off new, low-cost airlines. However, people are not parcels; missed connections, lost baggage and delayed flights created inefficiencies, contributing to the bankruptcy of almost every US airline.
Nonetheless, European airlines with similar motives have spent billions trying to follow suit. In the 1990s the French government opted to subsidise Air France and then built a new hub at Charles de Gaulle. It has four full-size runways and by 2010 will have more than 700,000 flights a year. Amsterdam now has five runways. However, in Europe too there have been failures or near-failures, including Sabena, Alitalia and Swissair.
The most commercially successful airlines - Ryanair, easyJet and SouthWest - have all rejected the hub model and flown passengers direct to their destinations. And yet BAA and the government seem not to have learnt from these lessons. For Grupo Ferrovial, the owner of BAA, this is perhaps not surprising.'
Bob Ayling, former chief exec of British airways
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3867768.ece
A leading British airline has criticised the Governments decision to build a third runway at Heathrow.
Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch Airlines, said that the expansion of the airport would have a detrimental impact on the lives of a million people living in west London, and would prevent the aviation industry from being taken seriously over environmental issues.
He added that the Governments reliance on new technology to reduce emissions was highly optimistic.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/t...hrow-decision-criticised-by-airline-boss.html
When the US passenger airline industry was deregulated in 1978, the big airlines followed the FedEx model to fend off new, low-cost airlines. However, people are not parcels; missed connections, lost baggage and delayed flights created inefficiencies, contributing to the bankruptcy of almost every US airline.
Nonetheless, European airlines with similar motives have spent billions trying to follow suit. In the 1990s the French government opted to subsidise Air France and then built a new hub at Charles de Gaulle. It has four full-size runways and by 2010 will have more than 700,000 flights a year. Amsterdam now has five runways. However, in Europe too there have been failures or near-failures, including Sabena, Alitalia and Swissair.
The most commercially successful airlines - Ryanair, easyJet and SouthWest - have all rejected the hub model and flown passengers direct to their destinations. And yet BAA and the government seem not to have learnt from these lessons. For Grupo Ferrovial, the owner of BAA, this is perhaps not surprising.'
Bob Ayling, former chief exec of British airways
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3867768.ece
A leading British airline has criticised the Governments decision to build a third runway at Heathrow.
Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch Airlines, said that the expansion of the airport would have a detrimental impact on the lives of a million people living in west London, and would prevent the aviation industry from being taken seriously over environmental issues.
He added that the Governments reliance on new technology to reduce emissions was highly optimistic.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/t...hrow-decision-criticised-by-airline-boss.html
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