There’s been a couple of big stories in the London newspapers this past week. One is the full fledged anticipation of the 2012 Olympics after the so-called “hand off” on Sunday, as Josh wrote about recently. Another is the fact that shamed pedophile (and former British pop heartthrob) Gary Glitter is back on British soil after being released from jail in Vietnam (he served three years on charges of sexually abusing children).
But another story, which hasn’t been as hyped, could impact you as a traveler more.
BAA, Britain’s largest airport operator, is expecting a ruling from the country’s Competition Commission that will order a break-up of its airport holdings, on the grounds that one company owning so many of Britain’s major airports is not good for the country.
The result? BAA is likely to have to sell two of its airports, maybe more.
BAA owns giant Heathrow, and also Gatwick, Stansted, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Southampton.
Most pundits are speculating that Gatwick or Stansted are on the block (and perhaps both), as are Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Obviously, holding onto Heathrow will keep BAA a powerful market player.
What does this mean for you?
Any time competition trumps monopoly the consumer could win, in terms of better and more varied service and better prices. There are rumors flying around that a group of airlines is thinking of pooling its money and buying a BAA airport. Ryanair is one airline denying that it’s looking into buying an airport (in this case, Stansted, a major hub for the carrier). With airlines in control, they could save on costs and, in theory at least, pass that on by way of lower fares.
The BAA isn’t buying the competition argument, however. It says that owning Heathrow really doesn’t translate into a competition issue with other British hubs because Heathrow isn’t vying against them for business. Heathrow is going up against other European and International hubs, like Paris, Amsterdam and Dubai.