tristar500
Why cant pax fly north to catch American bound flights? Why must Heathrow be THE place?
But you know the answer ... Money!
If the govt formulated a policy that was not cost effective to the airlines, then they would be asked to contribute. Naturally, none of them do and so the free market operates. The free market has found that the airlines make the most money by operating from as few a bases as possible.
The pax will follow until there are other options. Other options are now more in evidence and people like Zoom and XL are eating away at the base of the long haul Y cabins. No, it's not going to solve the problem in one, but when one aspect of the open market concentrates service in one area, it is not long before another opens it up again. It takes longer and is much messier than having a policy but that is the way we do things.
Not forgetting the other reasons why politicians do not make a policy about air travel. Whatever the outcome, they would be blamed. For the past three decades, all politicians have worked assiduously to distance themselves from anything that might get them blamed. This started with the Tories turning govt departments into 'agencies'. It was a very fine wheeze and has paid off for them.
There is no air policy in the UK and there will be no air policy until something really serious happens.