American Airlines has joined a campaign calling on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an urgent review into how Heathrow is regulated.
Heathrow Reimagined represents Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee (AOC), Arora Group, International Airlines Group (IAG) and Virgin Atlantic.
The American Airlines endorsement of the campaign is the first by a major airline based outside of the UK.
American Airlines is the third largest operator at Heathrow and is joining calls for a review to address why the passenger experience at the UK’s only hub airport is declining.
Heathrow has ageing infrastructure and expansion plans for the airport will see passenger charges increase. American Airlines is endorsing a timely review, addressing the root causes, before passengers and airlines are locked into higher charges for decades.
A spokesperson for Heathrow Reimagined said: “We welcome the decision from American Airlines to join the campaign, as we continue to seek fundamental reform to Heathrow’s regulatory model and, in turn, to enable affordable spending for the benefit of passengers, businesses and the UK economy.
“Today, Heathrow is the world’s most expensive airport, with inefficient spending that sees passengers and airlines paying £1.1 billion more each year than if charges were in line with equivalent major European airports.
“Despite recent announcements made declaring a ‘privately-funded’ expansion programme, we are clear that it will be the passengers who foot the bill through higher passenger charges. The time to act is now.”
Nate Gatten, Executive Vice President and Chief Government Affairs Officer of American Airlines, said: “Commercial air connectivity between our countries is critical for economic growth. As a major operator at Heathrow representing substantial connectivity between the UK and the US, we support the objective of Heathrow Reimagined to implement a review, and wholesale reform of the existing and outdated regulatory model.”
The development comes a week after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) formally joined the Heathrow Reimagined campaign.
IATA represents some 340 airlines and over 80% of global air traffic as a global trade association helping to formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.
