Originally Posted by
LTNman
Reminds me of when Tesco bought land for stores, didn’t build them and then hung onto the land to stop rivals building new stores that would create competition.
And then Aldi/Lidl etc marched unexpectedly up the wing using much smaller plots than Tesco expected, even in some cases directly opposite other big supermarkets. Even as late as 2008 such brazen actions were unthinkable, the big supermarkets were seen as invincible. Meanwhile shopping habits were changing and Tesco were lumbered with huge stores with the associated costs people didn’t want or need anymore.
Where this has relevance in this situation is the danger for BA and VS is they can shut off competition all they like by retreating to Heathrow or hogging unused slots, the danger for them is a gamechanger coming along - JetBlue? Wizz? Eos-style first class only to limit numbers - which alters the market in a way they didn’t envisage. Similar I guess to the huge shift to LCC pre and post 9/11.