HRG warns clients that Open Skies means more over crowding at Heathrow
Open Skies will mean over crowding at London Heathrow despite the opening of Terminal 5, according to HRG.
It made the warning in a briefing to its corporate clients, released yesterday as the landmark agreement was signed between the US and Europe.
The travel management company said: “Even though the implementation of the treaty will coincide with the opening of T5, Heathrow will still be overcrowded (around 90 airlines have made Heathrow their base), hosting significantly more transatlantic flights than any other European airport.”
HRG warned that other London airports will see a reduction in the number of flights and passengers as carriers choose to move their operations to Heathrow.
“Realistically however, moving airline operations is not enough, carriers will need to ensure that they have a viable network and timetable to effectively meet their passenger requirements,” it said.
It believes Open Skies could result in some of the larger airlines being forced to give up their existing monopoly of flight slots, restricting their future growth.
“We may also see increased consolidation in the airline industry (to obtain prime flight slots) but this raises the question of who is able to buy whom, particularly as the US has limited any foreign company from owning more than 25% of a US carrier’s voting rights.”
But, HRG said in principle, the Open Skies agreement is “logical, long-awaited and good news for clients as it is likely to result in lower fares due to increased competition with more airlines able to offer transatlantic routes”.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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