Monopoly leads to complacency

Implications: BAA owns and operates the three main London Airports at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead together with the three main Scottish hubs at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The final airport in the group is Southampton. As such BAA has for years enjoyed near monopoly for business and leasure travel to and from London and Scotland. This has bread complacency and led to high staff numbers and poor productivity.

Analysis: As a regular traveller through many of BAA's airports throughout the last 30+ years I have experiency both a steady decline in the condition of the airports estate and staff attitudes.

True there has been an exceptional amount of investment in new buildings, but the pressure on increasing capacity has still not kept pace with numbers travelling. The commissioning and opening Terminal 5  at London Heathrow  next spring may lead improved levels of service and relieve capacity contraints at the other four terminals. There will however be a considerable time before the rest of the Heathrow estate is brought into the 21st century. Meanwhile the condition of the existing terminals remains in a state of squalar and deprivation as capacity pressures reduce cleaning and materials.

The only answer is to break up BAA and introduce more cometition into travel to London and Scotland. Increase competition for business and leisure traveling public must be the only way to improve the conditions at BAA airports. From a situation of using Heathrow as the main London hub and gateway to global travel only 20 years ago, business travelers only now use the airport when there are no other alternatives.