V-Flyer

This may have already been discussed, if so apologies.

With VS cancelling ORD and the second LAX flight what does this mean for the slots at LHR. Is it likley they could move some of the LGW flights to LHR.

This was the excuse used when they moved MIA to LHR from LGW I think: I remember someone at VH telling me that they would like to move MIA back to LGW but had to keep it at LHR for the forseeable future as BAA had a use them or loose them approch to slots. I don't know how true that is?

The rule on a slot at Heathrow is that the airline has to use it a certain percentage of the time over a year (or sublet the slot to another airline, which has to use it), or the slot becomes forfeit.

This allows for some amount of seasonal schedule variation by the airlines.

I don't recall the exact percentage, and it's buried somewhere in the ACL (Airport Coordination Limited) website.

The common thing is to lease the slots out to another airline, especially if it's in respect of something like seasonality.

The other options are to increase flying to a different destination, or add a new destination. I recall Qantas operated a feeder flight from Manchester (flown by a Flightline BAe146), to connect in and out of it's long-haul Kangaroo services, in order to preserve a Heathrow slot. (As opposed to the usual thing of pax connecting on a BA shuttle.)

Of course, we could be headed for a point where the industry is so depressed that once scarce resources such as Heathrow slots, become less scarce, however, I doubt that would happen.

However, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see some of the capacity cuts, both frequency changes and down-gauges, to hang on longer than expected because of the effect they will eventually have on yields - i.e. creating a shortage in the market in order to drive the price up.

Mike

The use it or loose it slot policy at heathrow has been suspended just now as most airlines are making capacity cuts.

quote:Originally posted by JoeyVS
The use it or loose it slot policy at heathrow has been suspended just now as most airlines are making capacity cuts.


Which I was just about to say - in normal times I believe it is an 80% use it rule.

Tangentally, if VS were to pick up some of BMI's slots, I wonder whether LGW ops would still go on ...