After years of hearing complaints about Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports surrounding London, the British Competition Commission has suggested that the current owner of the three airports be forced to sell two of these airports as well as one in Edinburgh.
Late in the summer rumors circulated that the commission would recommend that some of the airports be divested, however, this current finding is more far-reaching than expected.
The move underscores the belief that competition will improve the customer experience. Part of the problem with deteriorating service at the airports is considered the near monopoly that BAA holds on airports in the UK.
According to the BBC, “Under separate ownership, the airport operators including BAA, will have a much greater incentive to be far more responsive to their customers, both airlines and passengers,” the Competition Commission said.
BAA has already put Gatwick up for sale after the August comments, however that sale is still open to a group of potential bidders, including a consortium including Virgin Airlines. O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair has also expressed interest in doing a deal to buy Stansted together with a collection of other investors.
I’m not sure that having airlines own the airports would improve things. We would dismantly one uncompetitive structure only to replace it with a new anti-competitive organization, this time run by the airlines.
Their track record is spotty to say the least.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
