Originally Posted by
Rivet Joint
Can anyone explain what’s going on at LHR? For as long as I can remember this was London’s premier airport and every operator wanted to operate there and would only use LGW if they couldn’t get access to LHR. Operators were paying huge sums for slots and queuing up at the door to get access.
However, it seems this is now changing. Various operators have left with ITA being a real surprise lately being the national airline of a big European country. If you look at the new routes opening lots of existing operators are also opening duplicate routes up out of LGW. Did not expect to see Singapore Airlines, Air India etc start operating routes at LGW. What has caused LHR to lose its shine?
Personally, I feel the airport allowing the Middle Eastern airlines to get as many slots as they now have is one of the big reasons. Essentially, this has turned LHR into a stopover hub for their operations and passengers rather than it being a world hub all airlines want to serve. The third runway should be an absolute priority to not only LHR but also the country if they don’t want things to become further marginalised.
Supply and demand. There is huge demand for LHR slots but no new availability. This means the price of those existing slots rise exponentially. Those with the deepest pockets can afford them and buy the others out (especially the ailing legacy carriers like SAS, ITA, Croatia…).