Post by Admin on Dec 9, 2014 23:25:22 GMT
As London's new runway battle heats up, MT asks the boss of what may soon be only the world's second busiest airport where he thinks it should go. Guess what he said?
If there were an annual award for the CEO who is most on top of their brief, then John Holland-Kaye would surely be odds-on to win it.
Heathrow Airport’s affable new CEO may only have been in his job since July, but he has clearly been doing his homework when it comes to the red hot, top priority item in his inbox – the campaign to secure the decision that London’s new runway should be built at Heathrow.
With around eight months left before the Davies Commission plumps for either Heathrow or Gatwick – and only six or so until the General Election – things are definitely warming up, as everyone from the travelling public through the airlines to government and local residents makes their views known.
Heathrow may even be about to lose its 'World's busiest airport' crown - Middle Eastern rival Dubai looks set to shift 71m passengers this year, neck and neck with Heathrow. But Dubai is predicting over 78m in 2015. Oh dear.
Consequently the 49 year-old Holland Kaye – who was Heathrow’s development director before taking over the left hand seat from Colin Matthews - sets out his stall in the determined manner of one who knows that the clock is ticking, and that success in his new role depends upon winning this argument.
Point one - added value. ‘The Davies Commission has stated that expansion at Heathrow will create £211bn of economic value for the country – nearly twice as much as expanding at Gatwick – and 180,000 jobs. That’s almost double the entire NHS budget. It’s a transformational prize and we need to grasp it.’
Point two – Reports of the death of the hub airport have been greatly exaggerated. ‘The hub and spoke system is one of the most efficient economic models for connecting people and things. It’s what the Royal Mail does, it’s what Google and eBay do’ he says
If there were an annual award for the CEO who is most on top of their brief, then John Holland-Kaye would surely be odds-on to win it.
Heathrow Airport’s affable new CEO may only have been in his job since July, but he has clearly been doing his homework when it comes to the red hot, top priority item in his inbox – the campaign to secure the decision that London’s new runway should be built at Heathrow.
With around eight months left before the Davies Commission plumps for either Heathrow or Gatwick – and only six or so until the General Election – things are definitely warming up, as everyone from the travelling public through the airlines to government and local residents makes their views known.
Heathrow may even be about to lose its 'World's busiest airport' crown - Middle Eastern rival Dubai looks set to shift 71m passengers this year, neck and neck with Heathrow. But Dubai is predicting over 78m in 2015. Oh dear.
Consequently the 49 year-old Holland Kaye – who was Heathrow’s development director before taking over the left hand seat from Colin Matthews - sets out his stall in the determined manner of one who knows that the clock is ticking, and that success in his new role depends upon winning this argument.
Point one - added value. ‘The Davies Commission has stated that expansion at Heathrow will create £211bn of economic value for the country – nearly twice as much as expanding at Gatwick – and 180,000 jobs. That’s almost double the entire NHS budget. It’s a transformational prize and we need to grasp it.’
Point two – Reports of the death of the hub airport have been greatly exaggerated. ‘The hub and spoke system is one of the most efficient economic models for connecting people and things. It’s what the Royal Mail does, it’s what Google and eBay do’ he says