Originally Posted by
roverman
Yes we'd love to see a Heathrow T2/ T5 style terminal, but the bare facts are:
Heathrow - airlines have to and will pay £millions for a pair of slots and around £40 per departing passenger in charges. MAN - airlines pay zilch for a pair of slots and £7 to £15 per departing passenger and won't pay any more. OK, HAL doesn't get the slot money directly but shows how skewed the picture is.
Hi Roverman, I accept and agree that there is a disparity between the landing charges at MAN and LHR. I don't agree that this tells the whole picture and does not explain the following:
1- I understand charges to airlines make up a very small percentage of the airports revenue streams. If that is the case, I would expect: (a) the landing charge discrepancy you note above to have a minimal impact on the finances of the design; and (b) this to incentivise the airport to design and build a destination terminal in order to entice passengers to spend money so rental income from retailers is maximised.
2 - the South East is very expensive to bud in. The profit on charges to airlines should go further at MAN than it would at LHR.
Obviously the airport have come
Up with a concept and design they are comfortable with, and I expect these issues to have been discussed as part of the process. I'd have expected a slightly different conclusion to this, but I don't have acess to the big picture.