BAA numbers rise

Heathrow was the star performer as BAA Ltd posted a 3.4% increase in total passenger numbers for October, boosted by a recovery in the level of business travel.  Actual flights rose by 1.2% meaning that the airline load factor also prospered.

At Heathrow numbers were up by 7.2%, but Stansted again suffered with another fall, this time by 3.1% the annual figure now running at below 20m.  Both Glasgow (down 7.4%) and Aberdeen (down 5%) continued to experience a period of contracting traffic.

A 10.6% increase in Heathrow's European travel fuels hope that the continent's economic recovery is beginning to stabilise.  Key routes with substantial increases included Geneva up 59.9%, Milan up 30.1%, Moscow up 27.5% and Berlin up 25.6%.  Long haul trips between Heathrow and China and Hong Kong increased by 16.1%, up by 23,000 from 150,000 to 173,000.  The increase came even though the hub's limited capacity means it can only directly serve two destinations in China compared to three from Paris, four from Frankfurt and five from Amsterdam.

Gatwick, now independent, had a very small growth of less than 1% for the month and is still 2.3% down for the full year. www.baa.com

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