BAA's monopoly in terminal decline

BAA airports enquiry chairman Christopher Clarke blasted BAA’s poor service
and blamed its lack of capacity on bad planning, as well as failure to exploit
growth opportunities across its portfolio.

“There are competition problems at each of BAA’s seven airports with adverse
consequences for passengers and airlines,” the Commission said. “A principal
cause is their common ownership.”

BAA, whose principal shareholder is Spanish transport operator Grupo
Ferrovial, said in response that the Commission’s recommendation of a
fundamental review of the company risked delaying delivery of new runways that
would answer these issues, “making better customer service less, not more,
likely,” according to BAA chief executive Colin Matthews.

BAA criticised the Commission’s review process calling it “flawed” and
suggesting its recommendations were “disproportionate and counter-productive.”
Consultation is ongoing and the Commission is inviting views on its guidance
until late September.