American Airlines has joined calls an “urgent and fundamental review” into the way in which Heathrow is regulated.
The carrier has added its weight to the Heathrow Reimagined campaign that is also being backed by the Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee (AOC), Arora Group, International Airlines Group (IAG), and Virgin Atlantic.
They have demanded UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reviews how the UK’s only hub airport is run “for the benefit of consumers, businesses, and the UK economy”.
Heathrow Reimagined has submitted a case for change to the CAA. It says it is in response to “years of declining passenger experience and ageing infrastructure at the airport, coupled with expansion plans that will see passenger charges rise again”.
American Airlines has endorsed the campaign’s call for a review “to address the root causes before passengers and airlines are locked into higher charges for decades to come”.
The endorsement of the campaign by American Airlines, the third largest operator at London Heathrow, represents the first signatory of a major airline outside of the UK.
A Heathrow Reimagined spokesman said: “We welcome the decision from American Airlines to join the campaign, as we continue to seek fundamental reform to Heathrow’s regulatory model and, in turn, to enable affordable spending for the benefit of passengers, businesses and the UK economy.
“This endorsement of Heathrow Reimagined by American Airlines, demonstrates the importance of connectivity between the United States of America and Britain, which is vital for connecting people and trade between our two nations.
“Today, Heathrow is the world’s most expensive airport, with inefficient spending that sees passengers and airlines paying £1.1 billion more each year than if charges were in line with equivalent major European airports.
“Despite recent announcements made declaring a “privately-funded” expansion programme, we are clear that it will be the passengers who foot the bill through higher passenger charges. The time to act is now.”
Nate Gatten, executive vice president and chief government affairs officer of American Airlines, added:
“Commercial air connectivity between our countries is critical for economic growth. As a major operator at Heathrow representing substantial connectivity between the United Kingdom and the United States of America, we support the objective of Heathrow Reimagined to implement a review, and wholesale reform of the existing and outdated regulatory model.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also joined Heathrow Reimagined. The global aviation body represents 340 airlines and over 80% of global air traffic as a global trade association helping to formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.
Heathrow Reimagined says it will “actively engage with the wider industry and government to achieve its primary objective of fundamental reform that can serve as a first step towards delivering value for consumers, UK plc and the government’s growth agenda”.
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