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Stansted comes out fighting in airport break-up row | Stansted comes out fighting in airport break-up row |
| Written by Tony Quested | |
| Tuesday, 22 April 2008 | |
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Stansted Airport owner BAA is delivering a hard-hitting message to the Competition Commission that breaking up the group could not only torpedo plans to expand capacity at Stansted and Heathrow but also the UK government’s entire ‘economic growth through aviation’ strategy. BAA is submitting a what amounts to a written challenge to the Commission to prove that UK airport capacity can be expanded without the financial firepower of BAA owner, Ferrovial. Rather than waving a white flag following the Commission’s announcement that BAA’s monopoly is hindering fair competition, BAA intends to come out with all guns blazing. It will argue that the system – principally Government policy and airport regulation – is strangling capacity growth. It will say that the airlines themselves are militating against equal competition between airports by their pricing policies and commitment to growing from hand-picked hubs. And in what could be described as a crunching boot in the cockpit, BAA will ask the airlines, the Competition Commission and the Government how they can tally commitment to slashing the UK‘s carbon footprint with asking commuters to spend hours on Britain’s roads network trekking to airports they don’t even want to use. A BAA insider told Business Weekly: “People from Cambridge and Essex don’t want to go to Heathrow or Gatwick if they can get the flights they want on their doorstep at Stansted – just as people from Slough would rather use Heathrow than slog round the M4, M25 and M11 to use Stansted. “Besides which the airlines all target certain flights at certain catchments and market types and we would argue that freedom of choice is worth ighting for. “Our London airports don’t compete against each other because they are all full at peak times. Nor do they compete in terms of catchment areas. Whatever happened to the argument for sustainable growth – or has the debate over Britain’s carbon footprint been kicked into touch? “Our stance will be that no-one is better placed than BAA and Ferrovial to deliver the Government’s aviation policy, to fund improvements without sapping UK taxpayers and deliver the most cost-effective options to the people who count – the passengers. “We are over the period of hype and posturing for position. The Competition Commission has until August to deliver a ruling on the so-called monopoly – but now we are all dealing in hard facts. If it can produce a solution to do what BAA intends to do – and find a miracle solution to do all that and still make flying cheaper then we would say good luck to them. To us it would appear quite a challenge.” Business Weekly understands that Ferrovial will, under no circumstances, prepare a contingency plan for selling off one of its London airports. It will argue that it cannot be expected to finance the growth projects at Stansted and Heathrow, including new runways,if the group is broken up, because its collateral would have been diluted. And if, despite all the apparent obstacles, the commission did rule that BAA had to see one airport, it would have to be on Ferrovial’s terms and represent true market value. But if that day dawns, BAA directors are telling us, Britain’s economy will be starting a nosedive towards stagnation.
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