Branson viewing to buy Gatwick Airport

[FFC]

Branson eyes Gatwick airport | Top News | Reuters (http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKN0133406220080902?rpc=401)&
Bloomberg.com: U.K. & Ireland (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aEnX1zcxRthg&refer=uk)

[SVoa]

I dont think there is a chance in this world they would let that happen, in this case BAA. Even though they are under preasure to let go of Gatwick, it has a lot to do with competition. I remember in 2000 when Stelios wanted to buy Luton airport and he was offering an insane amount of money, they still said no.

svoa

[green granite]

Bit like MOL and Stansted really, same applies.

[greatoaks]

Go for it Dicky :ok:

[keel beam]

PR stunt :eek:

[Avman]

Somehow I'd trust Dicky a whole lot more running an airport than MOL. If MOL ran STN, pax would probably have to enter the terminal through coin operated doors!

[cfwake]

SVoa

It may well soon be the case that what BAA want to do and what they legally must do become two different matters. While they may not want to sell Gatwick or Stansted, if the Competition Commission makes its judgement that they have to sell two of their 3 London airports, lets face it neither is liklely to be Heathrow!

This time it would not be a case of people offering BAA money on a speculative sale, it'll be to the highest bidder because they have to sell!

BBC NEWS | Business | BAA 'should sell three airports' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7571613.stm)

[tubby linton]

Just look at what he promised with his train set and what has been delivered thanks to massive subsidies from the government.Don't let him loose on an airport:eek:

[VAFFPAX]

tubby, if you look at VT and their failures, it was Virgin XC that was more of a wash-out than Virgin WC. And, it is not only Virgin at fault, but also Railtrack (now Network Rail), and Stagecoach, Virgin's partner in VT.

The Pendolino services, together with the Mallard services from GNER, put some of the joy back into taking the train, whereas FGW and their new layout still gets a bollocking for being crap. Without Virgin's high-profile campaigns to embarrass the government and its lapdog (Network Rail), the whole West Coast upgrade would have been shelved when Railtrack went bye-bye.

But that's another story altogether. I hope Virgin buys Gatwick, and turns the airport into a place that people will love to fly into.

S.

[merlinxx]

I would rather like Uncle Richard to by 'Our Little Airport in The Country' having been based there since 1964, I think it would be rather fun.

[L337]

I also hear that BA is going to buy Heathrow. :ok:

Cannot wait to hear what the woolly pulley will say about that.

[VAFFPAX]

BAA has made it clear that they will not sell LHR. They're happy to dump STN and LGW, as long as they are allowed to keep LHR.

S.

[aviate1138]

If Mr B buys EGKK then I expect to see lots of half naked girls and champagne at the start - and then - nothing.......... :rolleyes:

PS Don't let RB near anything mechanical [ switches or levers!]

[Romeo India Xray]

I have no complaints about half naked girls and champagne - its more than BAA came up with when they got their command. Provided Mr B does nothing, he will be doing far better than BAA who provided a constant drain, and when everything was drained they worked on the blood from a stone concept.

Bring on the girls!!! :}:D:ok:

RIX

[Toasty]

Branson looks out for the customer, and to be honest thats what an airport needs! At the majority are a customers worst nightmare...surley they dont have to be, and if anyone can to it I put my money on Branson!

[PAXboy]

It is always fascinating to see the RB mud slingers hit the forum as rapidly as the anti-MoLers. The improvements in UK based scheduled air travel in the UK in the past 21+ years owe a VERY considerable amount to RB. Around the world, he has set up LCCs and created jobs in the airline world. His high standards drove BA to improve their oferring.

VAFFPAX gives a good summary of the problems that he dealt with of taking on decades of neglect in the UK railways. That covered equipment, infrastructure and staff - all had been broken down by successive UK govts and he set about improving it.

I am sure that he is not unequivocally a good man but, he has consistently won in court against his detractors and yet ... here comes the mud once again. :ugh:

[everynowandthen]

For all you Branson bashers out there....Virgin would buy it as part of a consortium, fear not....
Virgin leads airline plot to buy Gatwick - Times Online (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article4658879.ece)

[Hotel Mode]

VAFFPAX gives a good summary of the problems that he dealt with of taking on decades of neglect in the UK railways. That covered equipment, infrastructure and staff - all had been broken down by successive UK govts and he set about improving it.

Thats what the PR says. The money for the route upgrade came from the government. The money for the trains came from the leasing company. The upgrade was planned by British Rail long before RB got his paws on it. Virgins input is nothing beyond marketing and service yet you'd think he wrote the cheque personally.

[VAFFPAX]

The route upgrade came from the government, correct. Because Railtrack, as much as it was a publicly listed company, still owned the track after privatisation. Which has nothing to do with Virgin Trains. VT leased track time, nothing more, nothing less. The significant difference though was that Railtrack and the government led VT to believe that the WC upgrade would be on time and on target and would allow VT, its prime customer on the route (through the WC and XC franchises), to run not only high-speed services, but tilting services as well.

Branson put a lot of his reputation on the line, purchased a bunch of new train stock (via a leasing company, granted, but still those Pendolinos were built to VT's specs), but was unable to run that stock when it was supposed to go into service because the WC upgrade failed to be delivered on time.

The XC (diesel) services were supposed to improve service between Penzance and Edinburgh, running at higher speed, more efficiency, more punctuality, and they believed the crap that they got fed by RT and the government. And, no-one told Bombardier (Alstom) about the winter storms that lash the railway line between Penzance and Exeter, which caused sea water to short out the under-carriage engines, which was a very embarrassing episode for the XC service until VT found the cause, had modifications made (which still didn't have the efficiency they were supposed to have) and then brought in the old class diesels to pull the XC services for some of the way to at least have the service run. Other companies would've simply thrown their hands in the air and blamed everyone but themselves. VT openly said that it was their fault and tried to make amends.

Now that the WC upgrade is partially in place (after RT went bust, NR cut some of the project out and left it for when they had the money), VT Pendolinos are actually on time and run very well. Where RT tried to do upgrades in the 6 hours between midnight and 6am for the first services of the day, NR decided to cut that cost and do it during the day. That of course did inconvenience the passengers, but for a significantly shorter time than the constant nightly overruns.

I am not a VT apologist by any means. I used to hate having to use a VT service between Leamington Spa and elsewhere (only two train companies served L/Spa in the early years of the millennium - VT and Chiltern), but these days, in Oxford, I'm happy to use VT because they generally run on time (within 5 minutes, not the 20+ minute delay in the old days). Sadly the Pendolino does not serve us, but the Pendolino services I DO use (generally Carlisle - Birmingham) are very pleasant.

S.

[Groundloop]

Eh, VAFPAX, VT no longer serve Oxford.

[Big Burd]

Why is there only one competition comission?

Giving ailrines control of airports is like giving matches to children - they think they know how they work and want to play with them but will burn their fingers.

BAA may have made a hash of things but I struggle to see how you can get more facilities and better quality without spending more money. MOL would introduce an entirely new dynamic and why shouldn't passengers pay for the services they use?

Chose the level of service you require an pay accordingly.

My average pass through time as a SLF is only about 10 - 15 minutes at each airport. I always internet check in and don't park but would pay for fast bag drop and fast track it it avoided mixing with shell suited holiday mob. It woudn't matter to me if the terminal was a shed with concrete floor and whilst T5 looks great on paper it is a huge disappointment to me as a passenger - if I wanted to pay to use a shopping centre - I would go to a shopping centre- at least I could get out when I wanted without having to wait for the Nigels to arrive - Why is BA's punctuality so bad?

[VAFFPAX]

groundloop, my apologies... I was not clear.

Until December 2007, Virgin XC services used to serve OXF, hence my referral to them. But you are correct, Virgin XC services are now part of the CrossCountry Trains franchise (a merger of Central Trains and Virgin XC).

The fact that the service levels didn't change when the franchise changed, clearly shows that Virgin XC was getting better before they became XC Trains.

Again, my bad.

S.

[bermudatriangle]

branson and the virgin brand are the ultimate free publicity machine.he appears in the frame at the drop of a hat,most of his publicly stated intentions come to nothing.i am sure gatwick airport will never belong to virgin or any other branson related company.

[silverstreak]

Why should Virgin Mogul, Sir Richard NOT go for LGW or any other airport for that matter... Whats the problem?

The Virgin group is made up of various companies, enterprises and projects therefor not putting all its eggs in one basket. Its a very successful brand, with worldwide kudos. Cant be any worse that things are already.

I think Sir Richard gets a bad press, and yes sometimes its all about publicity but you have to hand it to him, he does try and he did start out with nothing, and look where he is now.

Iam NOT an employee of any Virgin associated company, but do think he has the talent and knowhow to make LGW a better place for everyone!

[Woofrey]

The previous MD of Gatwick was an ex Virgin employee and I don't think he bought any particular benefit to the airport or to the employees, in fact it's hard to think of anything significant that he achieved in his time there.

The problem with running an airport such as Gatwick is dealing with, and trying to satisfy, the diverse range and requirements of different airlines. It's a fair bet that the opinions of what is right, or required, will differ between airlines - Easyjet and Ryanair will be at the opposite end of the spectrum to Emirates. Satisfying those requirements within the regulatory pricing framework is almost impossible, hence the "middle ground" perception with the low cost boys thinking too much is spent and the others wanting more investment.

As for BAA I bet they can't wait to offload it, and they won't really care who to, they should get a good price which will go to paying off some of that huge loan. They'll want to get rid of soon as well, before they get rumbled on the ridiculous "gaming" that went on in the CAA Review, and they fall short on that one.