BA chief executive Sean Doyle told the Airlines 2025 conference he supported Heathrow's plan to expand via a third runway, but not at massive cost.
"If you could avoid moving the M25, you should avoid moving the M25," he said, adding: "You should potentially look at building a shorter runway.”
However, in a separate session, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye claimed there was no alternative. “There is no way we can build a runway the length Sean will need if you don’t move the motorway. There’s a clear plan for it; we build a whole new section [of road] and then move over.”
He added a shorter runway was not enough to provide the capacity needed because it could not handle long-haul aircraft. “The cost is about the same and you end up with much less capacity. The calculations are quite clear.”
Woldbye defended Heathrow’s landing charges, the world’s highest. “It’s 20-50% more expensive to eat abroad – that’s the same with Heathrow,” he said.
He added there was strong demand from carriers despite the cost of using Heathrow. “If there was not demand, we would not have a long list of airlines waiting for slots.”
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Woldbye said Heathrow was close to completing installation of new security scanners meaning passengers can leave liquids and laptops in their bags when they clear security. Currently, he said, 90% of Heathrow passengers are using new generation security scanners, with 100% coverage due “very shortly”.
He defended his handling of last March’s substation fire at the airport, which closed it for most of the day and displaced passengers for days afterwards.
Woldbye said that if a similar fire occurred the airport "would still have to close for about six hours”, but said some terminals could still operate “because we have rewired it”.
Earlier in the day, Doyle told Airlines delegates it was highly unlikely BA would go back to handing out free food on its short-haul flights, and said any cost increases arising from the Budget later this month would likely be passed onto consumers.
