Heathrow capacity cap creates playground for monster jets

Sun rises at London Heathrow airport. Photo / Getty

London's Heathrow airport said the deployment of giant wide-body planes by airlines seeking to escape the constraints of capacity curbs at Europe's busiest hub will lift annual passenger numbers to about 73.4 million.

Heathrow upgraded its 2014 traffic forecast by 600,000 customers as carriers including British Airways and Qatar Airways flood its tarmac with Airbus Group NV A380s, making the airport the world's second-busiest for the double-decker.

"The planes are getting progressively bigger and that's likely to continue," Heathrow Airport Holdings Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye said on Wednesday in an interview. "That's fine for the airlines but not necessarily for the UK economy because it means there's pent-up demand."

Heathrow's two runways operated at 98.1 per cent of flight capacity in the first nine months, up from 97.8 per cent a year earlier, according to a statement. Local carrier BA has added five more A380s this year, while Qatar Air introduced its first on October 10, giving the hub 118 superjumbo departures a week, second only to Dubai, where top A380 operator Emirates is based.

The airport's latest passenger projection equates to a 1.5 per cent increase on last year's 72.3 million, when Heathrow ranked as the world's third-busiest airport after Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, home to Delta Air Lines, and Beijing.

Qatar Air

Qatar Air, the No. 2 Gulf carrier, plans to deploy a second 517-seat A380 - out of the 10 it has ordered - on the Heathrow route "in the near feature," while Gulf No. 3 Etihad Airways PJSC plans to send its first superjumbo to the London hub from December 27, with the second following in the first quarter.

Holland-Kaye said the start of Airbus A350 deliveries will provide a further impetus for the up-gauging of aircraft sizes.

The first A350-900 is due to be handed over to Qatar Air before the year's end, with the jet - able to accommodate 315 people though fitted with 283 seats for the Doha-based carrier - a potential replacement for smaller wide-bodies it operates to London. The first of 80 A350s that the company has on order will be used on the Frankfurt route from January.

New runway plans

Heathrow, where earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 12 per cent in the first nine months, is continuing with local consultations on plans to build a new runway, and will shortly propose measures to address concerns about the impact on road traffic, Holland-Kaye said.

A report from the state-backed Airports Commission that found Heathrow or London Gatwick to be best-suited to expansion has killed off proposals for a Thames estuary hub backed by London Mayor Boris Johnson - who opposes Heathrow's growth mainly because of the impact of jet noise - the CEO said.

"I think the estuary airport has gone away," he said of the so-called Boris Island plan. "It has got relatively little support. It's a clear choice now between Heathrow and Gatwick."

New capacity

Heathrow says it could add 40 destinations with a third 2.2-mile landing strip and serve the whole UK thanks to its location and rail links. New capacity would lift long-haul routes almost 50 per cent to 122 and allow 740,000 flights a year, 40,000 more than Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt.

Still, noise from a two-runway Gatwick would affect only about 14,000 people, versus 240,000 impacted today at Heathrow.

Johnson's plans for a return to national politics by standing as a Member of Parliament in the west London constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip may have an impact on the mayor's anti-Heathrow stance, Holland-Kaye said.

"My experience with most of our local MPs is that they reflect the views of their constituents, and more local people support Heathrow's expansion than don't," he said, adding that the airport employs about 2,500 people in the seat.

- Bloomberg