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October 5, 2009

Heathrow’s third runway in the Dragon’s Den

Filed under: Airlines, Aviation Economics, British Airways, Business Travel, Environmental Issues, Regulation, Routes & News, The Travel Business, Virgin — Tags: , , , — ja @ 6:03 am

Last week, I attended a discussion organised by CIMTIG regarding the future of Heathrow Airport, and the aviation industry in general. Sadly, because of limited time, and the attempt to discuss the whole industry, rather than just Heathrow’s third runway, they didn’t explore as many of the issues as I would like them to have done - but it was still a very informative evening.

This week is the Conservative party conference, and we expect some further discussion from the government-in-waiting about why they believe there are better ways of handling demand than building another runway.

I’d like to put Heathrow’s third runway into a ‘virtual Dragon’s Den’ and see how it gets along. Prior to last week, I’d say I was probably against the plans, but the presentation from the BAA director responsible for the third runway gave a very strong case, so I’m firmily back on the fence. Let’s see if the proposal can survive in the den. So here we have it - billions sitting on the table, rather than the usual £250,000, and I think we need a majority of the ‘Dragons’ to ‘invest’, rather than just the usual one or two.

Introducing the dragons.

In other parlance, they might be known as ’stakeholders’ or ‘investment solutions partners’, but as I hate both of those terms, I’ll definetely stick with Dragons!

  1. Airport neighbours
  2. Passengers
  3. The Economy
  4. The Environment
  5. Airlines

The article will follow later in the week. What do you think? Would you ‘invest’?

July 20, 2009

Can’t afford a private jet? How about a boardroom in a bus?

Filed under: Business Travel — Tags: , , , , , , — ja @ 5:04 am

A private jet might be the ultimate in mobile boardrooms, but with the current state of the economy, it isn’t really an option for most companies. So how about a trip aboard this canny invention from serial entrepreneur Tom Ball, who I’ve known for over 10 years now, due to us both working in the USA as students on the Southwestern Programme.

The “All A Board Room” bus costs £1200 per day - maybe not so cheap on first impressions, but as their presentation shows, it is only when you look at the proposition from a different angle that the benefits really start to add up. For starters, consider the benefits of combining meeting and travel costs together as one unit. Not a minute gets waisted! Then consider the extra element of fun and intrigue. All very good you might say, even very rock and roll, but how can that fit our budget?

Well, here’s another thought. I’ve always noticed that I do my best thinking when I’m on the train, or when I’m flying. Considering how much more visual stimuli there are out there when you are on the move, this is hardly surprising. Do you remember all those games you used to play in the car when going on long journeys. I spy, looking out for unusual brands of car, etc. There are numerous games which might really help the creative juices flow if you are having a meeting of minds to get an idea off the ground. If it is just a dull boredroom you need for the AGM, then maybe the bus isn’t for you, but if your meeting needs any creative input at all, then this bus must be priceless!

March 11, 2009

As BMI scrap flights, is Heathrow’s loss just Amsterdam’s gain?

Filed under: Business Travel, Flights v. Trains, Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — ja @ 10:57 am

If ever there was a clear-cut argument in favour of Heathrow third runway, then it would be the fact that BMI have just scrapped their flights from Leeds Bradford and Durham Tees Valley to Heathrow. Anyone looking to transfer onto other flights will now have no option but to travel to Amsterdam with KLM instead, as neither of these airports offer hub feeder flights from any other airline.  

Proponents of Heathrow’s third runway argue that the extra capacity that would be created could be used to keep open domestic routes like these two, and also to connect other British cities with Heathrow which have lost their links due to the high taxes imposed on UK domestic flights. Obvious cities which might otherwise support flights into Heathrow would include Liverpool and Inverness in the north and Plymouth and Newquay in the southwest. Meanwhile, opponents argue that people should travel to Heathrow by rail, and that the overall number of flights should be reduced anyway, thus reducing the prospect of these routes from ever becoming viable again. 

Right now, the facts would appear to speak for themselves when it comes to connecting flights, but what about people who just want point-to-point travel between British regional cities and London? We would expect some passengers from Leeds Bradford and Durham to transfer to flights from Manchester and Newcastle respectively, but a far more significant number will travel by train. Both airports also talked about finding replacement airlines to open up new routes into London, but we heard the same rhetoric when VLM scrapped their Liverpool to London City flights. Perhaps Flybe could come onto the scene at Leeds Bradford, where they already have a presence, but I don’t see them operating Gatwick to Durham Tees Valley flights alongside their existing Gatwick to Newcastle route. 

When it comes to the economic arguments about losing jobs to Amsterdam, there is nothing new here. For many years, KLM have offered more feeder flights from UK regional airports than any other airline, and they are set to increase this further still when they open up their new Liverpool to Amsterdam flights at the end of this month. Naturally, this isn’t good news for the UK economy, but we shouldn’t forget that Heathrow’s third runway would come with considerable economic and environmental costs as well. Nor should we forget that the ‘hub and spoke’ model is an inefficient way of operating flights, even if there is always going to be a need for it on some routes.

September 30, 2008

Can high speed rail really solve Heathrow’s Congestion problems?

Filed under: Aviation Economics, Business Travel, Flights v. Trains — ja @ 12:25 pm

So the Tories have now told us that they want to scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and build a new high speed rail route instead. Whatever the economic and environmental ramifications of this proposal, can it actually work?

In France, the TGV has certainly taken a massive chunk out of the domestic flights market, virtually wiping out flights between Paris and Lyons, and encouraging Marseilles airport to fight back by building the first dedicated budget terminal in Europe.

The train has already seen significant gains in market share on the London to Manchester route, whereas flights between London and Liverpool have also been chopped.

But could a single high speed rail route between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds really negate the need for a third runway at Heathrow? Or, given the current economic outlook and longer term environmental concerns, does that need still exist at all?

“A third runway at Heathrow would be a completely privately funded project, whereas building a new high-speed rail line between London and Leeds is going to require a minimum of £20 billion to get going, and we know how much these projects always overrun. This proposal contains an element of private funding, but around 4/5 of the cost will still come from the public purse.”

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