Originally Posted by
Set 1013
Cyrano,
With the greatest of respect I don't see your point. If Flybe changed from operating out of LGW to (as you say) a cheaper airport, I suspect that alternative airport would be less attractive to the traveling passengers. Would it not? The route demand is NQY - LGW! Simple! Half the people on this route connect around the world thought this airport. The route doesn't just support highly paid city workers traveling to their weekend home on the coast of Cornwall.
It is very simple really. If LGW didn't charge outrageous fees to put a dash in their, the route would be a good profitable one! Greed or politics on LGW's part is to blame for the down fall of this route.
I don't like the effect that LGW's pricing has on regional links but GIP is a private company and I respect their right to manage their asset as they see fit in the absence of any regulation to the contrary. Should there be regulation of slots for regional links? I'd like to see that. But that's a national policy question, not one for GIP.
As
davidjohnson6 points out, LGW could make more money by using those slots for an A320 going to (let's say) Malaga with 150+ passengers. The flybe LGW slots have been sold to easyjet. As a private company, why should GIP not maximise their revenues?
If half the demand is for connecting service, that may pose some problems for a future PSO. The purpose of a PSO is "territorial continuity", i.e. in this case improving mobility between Cornwall and London, for people who are starting their journey in one and ending it in the other. I'm open to being corrected, but I'm not aware of any European PSOs being defined in such a way as to subsidise international connectivity. In other words, I'd expect a Cornwall PSO to be for Cornwall-London service, not for Cornwall-Gatwick service, and to be open to carriers proposing services to Luton/Stansted/Southend, and who knows, even LCY
