Heathrow boss scorns second UK hub idea

BAA CEO Colin Matthews rejected the idea of developing a second international hub airport in the south-east. He said the government was "dreaming" with the idea of developing a greenfield airport on the Kentish coast or the Thames estuary. The CEO stated the increasing trend towards airline consolidation increases the needs for single-hub airports. Mr Matthews also defended the economic benefit of transfer traffic at Heathrow, which Prime Minister David Cameron said bought little economic benefit to the UK.

BAA: "People who talk of two hubs in the UK are dreaming. The challenge is to hang on to one. There are three hub airports in the region already - Amsterdam, Paris CDG and Heathrow." Colin Matthews, CEO. Source: Travel Weekly, 26-Jan-2011.

BAA: "What has happened in the US is a good indication of what is going to happen in Europe. We have seen the consolidation of airlines and consolidation of hubs. Airports that were hubs are not any longer." Colin Matthews, CEO. Source: Travel Weekly, 26-Jan-2011.

BAA: "To fly long haul, you need aircraft that are big and they need to be full, every day and every month, and the only way that can be done is by airlines plugging into transfer traffic." Colin Matthews, CEO. Source: Travel Weekly, 26-Jan-2011.