| Topic: | Re:Fantasy Island | |
| Posted by: | Tim Henderson | |
| Date/Time: | 18/01/12 12:13:00 |
| I don't think it will happen either. I have little faith in the aviation passenger forecasts that say oil will be cheaper in 2030 than it is today and won't increase in price until 2080. Regarding the hub, I was interested in the views from Birmingham reported today : http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/can-birmingham-airport-really-be-a-better-alternative-than-expansion-of-the-london-airports-66237 Typically, the non-London British businessman now eschews British Airways (BA) where it has removed all service – as it has at Birmingham – in favour of KLM via Amsterdam, Air France via Paris, or Lufthansa via Frankfurt services. BA operated its ‘Eurohub’ at Birmingham in the 1990s in an era when it was trying to decentralise itself away from an already congested Heathrow. Now it has distanced itself from Birmingham about as much as it possibly can do (though Birmingham is not alone in that by any means). I think the point is that we cannot get obsessed with the notion that Heathrow has to be the ‘broker’ for anyone wishing to travel long-haul from UK. If you insist on using the terms ‘hub and spoke’, then it is arguably more important for the regions to be directly connected (with airports such as Birmingham and Newcastle, spokes to Dubai’s hub) to the world, through other ‘hubs’. For instance, if you live in the North-East, you’ll often have reached Dubai before you have found your way to Heathrow! |