[quote] It's difficult to believe the claims of Delta, Continental and Northwest that they absolutely need access to LHR. It's not as if they have a connecting hub they need to plug in to. And as everyone knows, LHR is about as bad as LGA was until the Port Authority stepped in.
Smart folks go to Gatwick and jump on the express train to Victoria.
Why would DAL, CAL and NWA not have a problem with their euro hubs but have a fundamental problem with AA/BA?
It's called competition, And DAL,CAL and NWA don't want it if they can avoid it.
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Sorry, Dude, it won't wash. There are bilaterals allowing US carriers unfettered access to Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam - and Paris and Amsterdam actually have the runway capacity to make the promise of competition more realistic.
Heathrow is slot limited and destination limited. British Airways has had to resort to stopping at Washington Dulles to provide direct service from Heathrow to Houston, because the bilateral will not allow nonstops. Allowing BA and AA to corner the market to Heathrow does not foster competition; it stifles competition. And Gatwick is not Heathrow. It is not a good substitution for Heathrow; if it were, then Stansted would be a substitute for Gatwick.
Bottom line - competition will only be fostered with a new Bermuda agreement and 9 slots being transferred to carriers who by law have no rights to Heathrow.