Maybe feeling the heat over the Tories transportation
plan, the British Airways CEO mounted a counter PR attack yesterday: BA criticises Tory Heathrow plan (BBC, 1/10/08) (via Londonist).
Mr Walsh says the latest idea that a rail link from Leeds and Manchester to Heathrow would be an adequate substitute for a third runway "beggars belief". Really?
Just to right the wrongs, Heathrow expansion is only vital for Mr. Walsh's bonus! (see illustration an link)
His arguments in this Richmond and Twickenham Times article dubious for the least:
1. The jobs impact has never been quantified by an independent study
2. Comparing LHR alone to other airports is dishonest for the least because London has FIVE (international) airports.
3. Finally, BA and BAA just can't be trusted: T5 was given planning permission on the condition there will not be further expansion...
In addition, with the increasing price of oil, air fare prices have risen and has already had an effect on passenger numbers.
Finally, other countries have replaced air travel by train successfully. On the London-Paris segment, the Eurostar had over 70% of passengers share in 2003, and Y/Y the number increased 20% in 2007. In a full year, that's over 8 millions passenger, or 43,000 planes! (I assumed a plane carries 200 passengers).
Tags: Heathrow, LHR, T5, BA, BAA, airport, airlines, UK, transportation, environment, richmondtransits.blog
