"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 14:54:44 on Fri, 28 Feb 2020,
tim... remarked:

It therefore cannot possibly be argued that this increased opportunity
for air travel is necessary for the overall good of the UK economy
(except in the trivial amount that air side purchases form of the
economy)

You still banging on about that? The economic benefits of passengers
(and cargo) in transit go *way* beyond people buying a cup of coffee.

really

show your working,

cos I don't believe it

Every passenger in transit uses up two seats, and all the supporting
logistics for two seats. Not just at the airport, but all the service
industries whose customers are Heathrow based.

And it's not just a handful of seats on the planes, 35% of passengers are
doing transit.

but it's still a tiny amount of effect on total UK economy

Also not just all that extra money being spent locally to facilitate their
flights, but in many cases there very presence is what support the number
of destinations served, and in some cases the number of days a week those
flights operate.

but that not, of itself, an improvement for the UK Economy.

It's just an "Opportunity" benefit. (one that wont be accepted as
overriding the environmental dis-benefit)

In other news, a statistics from the news this week: 40% of all our
exports (to countries outside the EU - they sometimes forget to make that
qualification) go out of Heathrow. That's by value rather than volume, of
course.

but freight doesn't *need* to go from LHR.

That freight is presumably there because suitable passenger flights with
space in the hold, are currently there

and when the flights (to wherever it is) go from someone else (LGW for
example), International freight goes from that somewhere else.

and in many cases dedicated freight flights are set up from less used, but
strategically placed, airports as in the DHL hub at East Mids.

there's no pull factor from freight to fly from LHR, and no benefit to UK
GDP to move it there from where it currently flies from.

The biggest destination is the USA, which isn't surprising, not because of
the size of the market, but shipping something by sea to Seattle or Los
Angeles is a bit time consuming, and to Dallas or Chicago really quite
difficult. Whereas the planes can land anywhere just as easily.

like East Mids.

And oh look, that exactly what happens.

tim