CD Traveller » BAA

Edinburgh airport for sale

Editor — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:17:31 +0000

Edinburgh Airport

The decision by BAA to sell Edinburgh Airport instead of Glasgow might seem surprising to some. After all, Edinburgh has more passengers, is based in Scotland’s capital and had money invested last year to spruce up the departure lounges.
BAA must think then that either Glasgow has more long-term potential for the group or that Edinburgh will attract a higher price.
For us, the travelling public, though it is to be hoped that a new buyer will result in the sort of competition that has sprung up between Heathrow and Gatwick. now that Gatwick is not owned by BAA. It is still early days at Gatwick but it is to be hoped that some more transatlantic flights might be attracted back to Gatwick. Equally Edinburgh could do with some transatlantic flights as Glasgow has done better at persuading airlines to base themselves there. Maybe the new owner could even be persuaded to link into the rail system behind the airport so that passengers did not have to go into Haymarket to continue their journeys.
That leaves Stansted to be sold. It seems BAA is still trying to hold on to this airport but one wonders how longer their persistence can last. And the patience of the regulators.

image courtesy of BAA

Fancy Buying an Airport?

adrian — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:24:08 +0000

image courtesy of Newcastle Airport

Roll up, roll up, I‘ve got Easter bargains galore. You want an airport? I’ve got just the one for you. Big ones, little ones. Ones at home or in the sunshine. Let’s do a deal while prices are low. I’ll even accept Nectar points like easyJet does.
That might be the patter of a market trader flogging the odd airport or two. Investment banks and consultants being called in to sell a rash of airports might use less colourful language but the principle is the same. So what can you get for your money? Newcastle airport, only about 20 minutes from the centre by Metro is available as the majority shareholders, a group of local councils supposedly want to offload it before a debt becomes due next year. Fancy a collection of British airports? Peel Holidays has been talking to Vancouver Airport about selling off Robin Hood Doncaster,( or whatever it’s called this week) Durham Tees Valley and Liverpool John Lennon. Something bigger? Well BAA has to sell off Stansted and wither Edinburgh or Glasgow. I’ll even accept Nectar points like easyJet does.
Prefer something warmer? AENA, the state controller of Spanish airports is considering making available 40 year leases for both Madrid and Barcelona Airports or, if you’ve deep pockets, you might be able to buy 49% of AENA which would give you a stake in 47 airports worldwide.
How about a gamble? Atlantic City Airport in the US is up for grabs. The casinos and beaches entice the visitors. One way to get there is by plane and if you own the airport you could be in the chips.
Does any of this matter to you or I? For the most part ,no. What concerns us is that our local airport is friendly, quick to get through, efficient and, preferably, has planes that go to where we want to so that we don’t have to traipse to Heathrow or Manchester. And speaking of Manchester, they could be in the market to pick up an airport to add to their collection of Humberside and East Midlands. If you don’t live in the south east of England or fly into Gatwick you may not have noticed the changes that a new owner can bring. Gatwick is beginning to provide new competition and is tackling some of the problems like security lines that passengers have been complaining about for years. So, yes it may matter. New owners can inject new life and new ideas into how airports can be run. Expect to see changes at some stage later this year then.

Skytrax Airport Awards

Editor — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 09:50:25 +0000

Skytrax Airport Awards

On Wednesday evening in Copenhagen, Skytrax announced the winners of their airport awards. Never heard of them? Skytrax polls travellers across the world for their thoughts across 39 different categories. These surveys are always completed after the trip so that people can think for a day or two after the event so that a considered opinion can be given. And 11.38 million people from 105 different nationalities gave just that considered opinion.

The airport of the year was Hong Kong International Airport which, if you have ever used it, would be a popular choice. But other Asian airports dominated most of the important categories once again. Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea, Singapore’s Changi Airport, Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia and Beijing’s Capital Airport all performed well. Asian airports seem to outstrip most of their British and European rivals in the quality of service and comfort that they provide.

From the UK, Heathrow won the award for Best Airport Shopping and Stansted won for Best low-Cost Airline Airport. The Sofitel in Heathrow also won Best Airport Hotel in Europe. Elsewhere British airports were also rans. Amsterdam beat both London City and Heathrow in the Best Western Europe airport category and that was about as far as any got. In the important staff service category for Europe no British airport made it into the last three, those being Dusseldorf, (which won) Zurich and Copenhagen.

Why don’t we do better?

One reason is that our airports are aging and new airports always seem to get more popular approval. It takes years to get through objections and planning procedures to change small things let alone build new ones. Can you remember the last time the UK had a new airport? But that is no excuse for not winning some categories such as service. Some of the worst hotels and airports I have ever passed through have been redeemed by the service I’ve encountered. Is our service getting worse or others performing better? Is that newer airports than ours leave a better impression on travellers so they are more likely to vote them higher in other categories rather than older and cramped ones? Take Heathrow. It is constrained by a road network making it difficult to expand without major disruption to the surrounding communities as was shown when BAA tried to persuade us that another runway was required. Now they have to redevelop in a limited area and I’m not sure the refurbished areas will ever perform as well as the completely new terminal 5 is doing.

One problem with this type of survey is that larger aiports will have larger number of voters so small airports that handle just hundreds of thousands of travelers will never have gain enough votes. So since Skytrax has introduced some new categories maybe we should have some categories broken down by the number of passengers travelling through so smaller airports can compete.
But then, would we do any better?

The Competition Commission and BAA

Editor — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:39:15 +0000

BAA

This morning the Competition Commission has ruled that BAA must sell off Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports. This follows from the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold the sale despite the attempts of BAA to say that the travel market had changed quite a bit since the original ruling was given. What will BAA do now? Sell and give in gracefully or try and find justification for continuing its fight?

The Commission will not make its final report until May or June so will BAA wait until then before making a decision? Forget for a moment that the Commission needs another two months for some reason and assume both airports will be sold, Stansted first according to the Commission.

The sale of Gatwick has been one of the best things that could have happened for passengers. For the first time in years there seems to be competition. And investment. Ray Melee, from the new owners at Gatwick said yesterday at the Passenger Terminal Expo that he wanted Gatwick to be the airport of choice instead of the feeder to Heathrow that it had virtually become when it was BAA owned. More importantly it wants to treat passengers as guests and become the first for passenger service. Already the new owners have cleared away the strange security system that could see you sent to one of two floors to go through the system in the south terminal. 19 new lanes will be introduced this year from May onwards including one for those requiring more assistance. Those with hand baggage and who are aware of having to take off jackets and carry laptops may even get their own speedy lane!

So passengers through Stansted and whichever airport in Scotland is sold off stand a good chance of being treated as paying customers instead of the mentality that often seemed to exist in the old days that airports would be great places if it wasn’t for those pesky passengers disrupting things. Now airlines need to realise what passengers have known for years in the south. Heathrow is not the airport of choice. The sooner they start switching flights (like North American ones for example) to Gatwick the better for the blood pressure of a lot of passengers!

The Future for BAA

adrian — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:16:42 +0000

This morning BAA announced its financial results for 2010. It made a loss but the chief executive calls this “robust” and confidently expects to present a “strong increase in profits” this year.
Now let’s get down to the important stuff. How is BAA going to treat its passengers in the future? Apparently on BBC Radio 4’s File on Four tonight, Colin Matthews – the Chief Executive – will say that Heathrow will double its fleet of snow clearing vehicles to more than 100. This is part of 3 strategies that were confirmed in BAA’s presentation, one of which is “Making Every Journey Better.” There is a long way to go before that is achieved since satisfaction levels are still stuck in the middle as compared to a group of competitors . It still has areas of passenger concern. The amount of baggage that is “misconnected” (what a lovely word meaning “fouled up”) hasn’t significantly been improved. Punctuality at Heathrow is no improvement on the previous year either. (The presentation doesn’t give figures for its other airports.) Heathrow is getting a wonderful new terminal 2 in a few years time and there will be a new baggage tunnel to help speed up luggage delivery.
Those of you outside London will be nodding off and no wonder. The report, the presentation and the press release hardly mentions BAA’s other airports. This is because one of their other strategies is to focus on Heathrow. It is almost as though they have accepted the decision by the Supreme Court not to allow them to appeal against the sell-off of a Scottish airport and Stansted. Except that it was only a fortnight ago that they launched their big plan for the future of Glasgow Airport. Could Edinburgh then will be the one they opt to sell as no master plan has been produced there yet? Edinburgh’s last master plan was in 2006 (as was Glasgow’s) so maybe one is imminent. Funny how their master plans are every 5 years – just like the old communist blocs’ plans and look what happened there! And what of the future of Southampton and Aberdeen airports?
From the passengers’ point of view what matters is service, a quick hassle-free move through the airport and that is it. Edinburgh is the only one of their airports to make it into the top 5 in Europe for customer service. And will that or any other airport other than Heathrow get a look-in at big improvements if the main focus is to be there? BAA lauds the fact that the net income from passengers from retail efforts is up by 12% to an average of £5.29 per passenger and the huge investment it is continuing to make. If the service isn’t there; if the satisfaction isn’t there then competition from Gatwick to its London base and from whichever airport it loses in Scotland might do more than anything else to improve the lot of the traveller going through its remaining airports.
Earlier, I asked how BAA intended to treat its passengers, one of it’s three key strategies. I still haven’t found that part in any of the documents

Customer Service in Travel

adrian — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 08:07:16 +0000

It’s one of those things that come to the fore when times are tougher. If there is little to differentiate one company from another when prices are similar then it is how the customer is treated that can make the difference. So the claim by Cityjet, which flies to regional and European destinations from London City, to give passengers free flights if they are not happy with the service provided by the airline is welcome news.
It is only for a trial period but it demonstrates that the management of the airline must be pretty confident about their treatment of passengers.
For once though I must add a note a caution. Passengers are a funny group and react differently. Why not, they are individuals. I once had a complaint from a lady who had flown Ryanair. Nothing surprising about that you might think. But she had paid just £1 for the fare. (yes, this is a few years ago when the airline regularly offered flights at this price) She wrote venomously about not having a numbered seat, a meal, a free drink and the fact that the airport she landed at was not the closest to her destination. Despite the fact that if she had read a little about Ryanair she would have known all this. But she was, unreasonably in most people’s view, dissatisfied. So Cityjet, be careful. There are unreasonable passengers.
BAA, the airports operator says that “improving customer service has contributed to strong financial revenue.” How can this be true? How can an airport group which few of us have alternatives to (especially if you rae in the M90 belt in Sctland or live on England’s south east coast )provide sufficient of an improvement for us to want to use it more often? The answer must be that that in this sense the customer is the airline and the retailer. We, as travellers, have little alternative in London. By and large US and Far Eastern services fly from Heathrow rather than Gatwick. European leisure flights tend to be Gatwick based rather than from Heathrow and a 60 mile trek to Luton or over 70 to Stansted is not that appealing. Maybe this will change now that Gatwick has been sold but there are few signs yet of competition between the two.
But in other ways BAA is making a difference for the passenger. It is altering its fee structure for airlines so that carbon emissions will play a large part as will the number of passengers on a plane. Why does this matter? Because it may force airlines to buy more modern, quieter and more fuel-efficient planes.
Finally, Southern Railways has announced a guaranteed full money refund on tickets. Even, as it says, you change your mind and decide not to go.

Staying at Home

Editor — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:55:13 +0000

There has been a flurry of information released that supposedly tells us what we did during the summer. Did we holiday at home or did we go abroad and does it matter to us as the people who went anyway. The only reason we are interested in this sort of news is because of that self-satisfying feel you get in knowing whether you have done something different or whether you have been where others have gone.
Except the figures are as confusing as they have been for most of the year. More of us stayed here, but more of us went away as well. The figures from BAA (who own Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen) show that more of us flew than last year but then that is hardly surprising given the economic state most of us were in during 2009. Visit England says that the number of domestic trips taken during the first six months of the year was flat but some places obviously did better than others. In Leeds, for example, the success of the sightseeing bus there has been mirrored by similar success by the boat trips through the city. But then Germany says that our visits to their country are up. Already, 2.2. million overnight stays have been recorded with the popular places being Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin and Munich. And this won’t yet include visitors to the Oktoberfest or the Christmas markets,- always a popular coach offering. Spain has seen a rebound but the US hasn’t; figures are just 2% down but the word on the street is that there have been fewer visits to Florida this year. That is a bit surprising given the opening of the new Harry Potter theme area. Maybe not enough of us know it is there. We do know where Turkey is as shown by more of us going there this year
For those who did stay, it appears that camping and caravanning might have been as popular as they became in 2009. Both holiday types allow you to go for just a few days a week, a fortnight or even a month but the flexibility they offer may help understand their popularity. Certainly this last weekend where much of our countries had Indian summer type weather (apart from the south east of England) seems to have brought out more caravans than you normally see in October. Even the new tourism minister, John Penrose has said that staycations are a good think, at least according to his spot on the Department of Culture’s website.
So this will be the last piece on where we went or didn’t go this summer. Now that autumn and winter are looming let’s concentrate on where to go in the future.

Airport Strike Threat Lifted

Editor — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:14:41 +0000

After talks today, Unite, the union involved has withdrawn its proposed strike action at the airports of BAA. Heathrow, Stanstead, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports could have been affected by the strike which was likely to have taken place later this month.
A new pay offer has been recommended by the union and voting will take place over the next 3 weeks. If rejected by members the earliest a strike could now take place would be in September.

Summer and Bad News

Editor — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 11:42:52 +0000

With decent weather over much of our countries last weekend it looked as though things were set fare for a while. In the space of one week, we have had winds and heavy rain and then, to top it off, Goldtrail Holidays (which also used the name Sunmar) went bust yesterday evening leaving 16,000 abroad. Now it also seems that there may be a strike at all BAA airports (Heathrow, Stanstead, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen) during August.
CD-Traveller has frequently argued for wider consumer protection. In the wake of Globespan in 2009 and XL in 2008 (see CD-Traveller 14 Sept, 26 Nov, 17 Dec 2009), you might have hoped or expected that such high profile events might have stimulated some change. No, the EU prepared a document and sent it for consultation. The then government said it was an EU issue and we are no further forward. Yet we have had 11 cases of companies going bust this year.
To remind those unfortunate holidaymakers who booked with Goldtrail, if you are on holiday at the moment then enjoy the rest of it and the CAA will ensure flights for the return flight. If you booked just flights with them and then paid separately for your accommodation, check with the ATOL website or www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2036&pagetype=90 (be patient it was very slow this morning) and your travel insurance. You may have to find return flights home and pay for them. Keep any and all receipts in case you can make a claim.
For those of you who are yet to go on a package holiday, (accommodation and the flight both through Goldtrail) and Simon Calder from The Independent estimated there might be up to 50,000 of you, then you will get a refund. This is small consolation since finding a holiday at this stage for the same price is unlikely. Chances are you’ll have to pay more. For those of you who just booked a flight with them and paid be credit card, contact you credit card company for a possible refund. If you paid in any other way, check your travel insurance for a possible refund.
And to top off a bad week, Unite is to ballot its members about strike action at all BAA airports because they have only been offered 1.5% pay rise. If they vote for a strike, the best guess is that it will occur sometime after the first week in August. How will it affect flights? The answer is that we will just have to wait and see.

Welcoming Tourists at Heathrow

adrian — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:05:57 +0000

Returning to an old hobby horse of mine, I had to change terminals at Heathrow so I caught the Heathrow Connect service to get me from terminals 4 to 3. In the old days before terminal 5, you caught the Heathrow Express service which linked the terminals at no cost to you. (You pay only if you went on in to Paddington) Now the Heathrow Express doesn’t stop at 4 only the stop for 1 and 3 and then 5. (For those of you who weren’t aware terminal 2 doesn’t exist as BAA rebuilds it)
An American had caught the Connect service at 1 & 3 instead of the Express service and wound up at % instead of 4. Now he speaks English and could understand where he had gone wrong but some Japanese tourists were a bit more unlucky. It come down to the same old thing. Heathrow (and BAA in general) treat tourists as though they have fluent English and understand all the nuances of the way BAA does things.
There are still no signs that I can see in any language other than English in the main part of the airport. The announcements on the Heathrow Connect and the digital display are solely in English so despite the fact that the transport system has got more complicated for travellers, nothing hs been done to help them. Yet judging by just being at the station for 20 minutes there was enough confusion from travellers, both English and foreign speaking to have better help than they are getting.
The sole change that I have seen is that Heathrow Express has printed leaflets in a number of different languages which is more than Heathrow Connect, BAA or Transport for London
has done.