I see BAA (and some of the budget airlines) might get a bit of a grilling on this subject later this week:
www.sundayherald.com/29013
10/11/02
MSPs quiz cheap fliers on helping tourism
By Kenny Kemp
THE low-cost airlines will come under the spotlight this week as the Scottish parliament quizzes them on how to improve tourism links to and from Scotland.
'I want to find out what needs to be done to facilitate more direct flights into Scotland through low-fares routes or through direct connections with Norh America,' says ent erprise committee convener Alex Neil MSP.
'And, personally, I will want to hear about specific cases where opportunities have gone by the board. For example, I want to find out why Ryanair walked away from the Inverness to Stornoway route and see if there is anything we can do to prevent this happening again. And also why Easyjet walked away from a Glasgow deal.'
Neil is also keen to find out from airport operators BAA Scotland if their policies at Edinburgh and Glasgow are detrimental to encouraging direct flights into Scotland.
'This is the first time a Scottish parliamentary committee has looked at the airline industry in depth,' he says. 'There will be no preconceived ideas other than how to boost tourism in Scotland. There are two sides of the story and we want to see what we can do to help.'
The enterprise and lifelong learning committee will hear evidence from Michael Cawley, Ryanair's commercial director; Ian Reid, British Airways general manager Scotland; Mike Cooper of Easyjet; David Field of BAA Scottish Airports; and Bob Macleod and Tom Wilson, respectively business development directors of Highlands & Islands Airport and Prestwick International Airport.