> If this sector is so profitable, will it cause the same crisis that privatization of hospitals did to healthcare ? Say "Global Infrastructure Partners" expands and "buys" JFK, ATL, LAX, just like private healthcare bought all the hospitals. Now they can start jacking up their landing fees (each year) until air travel becomes unaffordable. What's to stop them from turning this into the ultimate regulatory capture ?
Ironically, GIP owes its airport holdings to the UK government coming to that conclusion about the market power of the airport operator formerly known as the BAA, and forcing it to sell some of its airports. Its growth potential has depended on the success of lobbying efforts to allow it to expand LCY (was going through at the time they sold it) and ideally a second runway at Gatwick (still hoping for).
The politics might have more effect on its bottom line than buying in better logistics systems but it's probably less sexy an anecdote for an article. I'd definitely think they were better off hiring one really smart process guy as COO than contracting top tier consulting firms to throw dozens of graduates at the airport's operations issues though.
The "london additional runway" lobbying is extraordinary. I've seen huge billboard adverts about it up in Scotland, 400 miles away. There is clearly a lot riding on whether it ends up at Heathrow, Gatwick (less likely), Boris Island (even less likely now), or maybe doesn't get built at all due to environmental concerns.
Ironically, GIP owes its airport holdings to the UK government coming to that conclusion about the market power of the airport operator formerly known as the BAA, and forcing it to sell some of its airports. Its growth potential has depended on the success of lobbying efforts to allow it to expand LCY (was going through at the time they sold it) and ideally a second runway at Gatwick (still hoping for).
The politics might have more effect on its bottom line than buying in better logistics systems but it's probably less sexy an anecdote for an article. I'd definitely think they were better off hiring one really smart process guy as COO than contracting top tier consulting firms to throw dozens of graduates at the airport's operations issues though.