BA Unable to Meet Branson's Challenge on Slots at LHR
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I must confess the "slot politics" aren't my strong point, but I'm going to stick my neck out to a degree.
Wasn't there an argument sometime ago that BA didn't actually own their slots at LHR as they weren't actually listed as an asset in the Balance Sheet at the time of privatisation? Therefore, BA can't actually sell what it doesn't own?
If someone could refresh my memory or put me straight etc.
Egg Mayo
Wasn't there an argument sometime ago that BA didn't actually own their slots at LHR as they weren't actually listed as an asset in the Balance Sheet at the time of privatisation? Therefore, BA can't actually sell what it doesn't own?
If someone could refresh my memory or put me straight etc.
Egg Mayo
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Branson is only ever concerned about himself. He doesn't seem to take into account the fact that other heathrow based carriers would finally be allowed to take a slice of the N. atlantic cake. I am sure BMI would jump at the chance help to bring competition to the market. Sir Micheal Bishop has indicated he is all for the BA/AA deal.
The bottom line is Dicky B is on the edge and his cherry picking days are numbered. He is using his excellent P.R skills to hang on a little longer.
The bottom line is Dicky B is on the edge and his cherry picking days are numbered. He is using his excellent P.R skills to hang on a little longer.
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Egg Mayo:
There was indeed a tenable argument that BA did not own its Heathrow slots. It was said that the question of the ownership of slots should have been settled in the public's favour when the asset value of the airline was being calculated for the purposes of privatisation. Unfortunately the government lawyer who headed the privatisation task force neglected to do this. His name, you'll recall, was Bob Ayling.
There was indeed a tenable argument that BA did not own its Heathrow slots. It was said that the question of the ownership of slots should have been settled in the public's favour when the asset value of the airline was being calculated for the purposes of privatisation. Unfortunately the government lawyer who headed the privatisation task force neglected to do this. His name, you'll recall, was Bob Ayling.
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Sorry guys, I'm sick of all this BA-bashing. No, I do not work for them, but am privileged to fly with them frequently. Always very professional both in the cabin and cockpit (sometimes the groundies are drips but that's industry-wide), rather than other airlines who hire their space-waitresses primarily on looks and their ability to keep the lip-gloss on for 8 hours. I know who I'll be looking to when I need help getting out of a bent tube. In any case, BA has been a plc for 13 years now - so it's learnt to compete. For most of that time, it was the world's most profitable airline - so it grew organically. So one gets rather flustered when one hears of someone who usually pleads for open competition, but only when he's been bailed out by a largely state-owned enterprise, now bleating about needing more regulation to be competitive!! the real issue is when the US will open THEIR skies... but I digress. Sure, BA have made mistakes - buying 50-odd 744s was one of them - and as we all know, airline managers the world over are idiotic ogres who should all be on the next Voyager rocket - but BA are a professinal outfit in the air, whose home base exposes them to more competition than any other major (ie. more people want to fly in/out of LHR than pretty much anywhere else) but they generally still manage to turn a quid. Bit of a lesson to most of us, really...
