A world class Heathrow
London’s international links are among its greatest assets. The recent poor quality of the passenger experience – characterised by flight delays, excessive and unreliable waiting times, deteriorating terminals and distorted economic incentives – are the focus of our new report, which suggests short term proposals to restore Heathrow to world class status.
Air
International business accessibility is vital to London’s world city status
Access to high quality international air travel is vital for business in the capital. London is a leading world city and its international links have always been one of its greatest assets.
London First is working to identify sustainable solutions to increasing London’s aviation capacity which address business needs and environmental concerns.
Current issues:
Heathrow
We are campaigning to put an end to the "hassle factor" caused by flight delays, overcrowding and poor customer service at London's airports. The quality of passenger experience at Heathrow in particular is a crucial competitiveness issue.
Our recent report, Imagine a world class Heathrow launched in June 2008 with the Secretary of State for Transport, proposed short terms solutions to the problems facing London's principal business airport.
Airport regulation
In our response to the Civil Aviation Authority's price control proposals for Heathrow and Gatwick, we called for a fundamental reform of regulation to put the passenger first. We were pleased that the regulator recently announced that reform of the regulatory regime should place the interests of the consumer unambiguously at the heart of the CAA's duties.
Having established a steering group to oversee our study of the regulation of London's airports, chaired by Ric Lewis, Chief Executive of Curzon Global Partners, we will continue to press for changes in the regulatory framework governing Heathrow. Our early response to the Government's economic review of UK airports set out our thinking.
Airport expansion
London business believes airport expansion - critical to UK competitiveness - must go hand in hand with measures to address the environmental costs of air travel and to reformed regulation governing service quality and flight delays. Heathrow needs to deliver world class performance, in international reach, in passenger service, and in its performance against local and global environmental measures.
Jo Valentine letter to the Times published in the Time 4 July, 2008.
Proposal for the development of Heathrow - our response to Government's consultation on Heathrow expansion
Aviation capacity and London's competitiveness - our submission to the London Plan review Our recommendations for developing London’s airport capacity were largely reflected in the Government’s Aviation White Paper in December 2003 and in its 2006 progress report Aviation emissions trading
In a global economy moving towards limitations on current carbon production, the price of air travel must include the full cost of its social and environmental impact. Nevertheless, action to reduce emissions from one sector alone will not effectively tackle climate change, and the stringency that applies to aviation's inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme should be applied across all sectors equally. Consultation response
Other useful links
Harvey McGrath's speech at our T5 event in Feb 2008, summarising London First policy on Heathrow
London First is a founding member of the Future Heathrow Group, which promotes sustainable capacity growth
For more information contact Rob Fox
