A senior figure at British Airways has warned that the current government policy towards aviation in the UK could lead to fewer routes being served by the airline from London.
Richard Tams, head of sales and marketing for British Airways in the UK, said the government under-estimated the value of the number of passengers transferring through the UK.
Speaking at the ACTE Executive Forum in London, he used the example of the Heathrow-Denver route, which is currently served daily by the airline.
The high frequency of the route only exists because of demand from passengers transferring through Heathrow, said Tams.
“With UK demand alone, there would only be enough passengers for two, or maybe three, flights a week.”
The BA boss said that the British economy benefits from having such a wide number of destinations served directly from the UK, saying “connection is important”.
Tams also called on the industry to unite and “speak as one voice” against Air Passenger Duty (APD).
He said that the airline industry is seen by the government as “a bottomless pot for the treasury to draw on”.
“We can not get the government to cancel it,” he conceded, “but we can at least convince the government it’s not an easy option.”
Tams’ comments were echoed by Anya Newton, executive director at Goldman Sachs, who called for “more action” from the industry, “rather than lots of talking”.
“The total cost of the trip is absolutely critical to us,” she said. With the hikes in APD, this is inevitably on the rise.
While corporate buyers such as herself may not stand up and lobby, they could help in other ways, said Newton, such as providing data as evidence of any downward trends.