1. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 01
A better solution
for London & the UK
Connectivity, competition & certainty

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GATWICK
STANSTED
HEATHROW
LUTON
LONDON
CITY
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City of London
Westminster
The West End
Canary Wharf
Paddington Station
Victoria Station
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A competitive and
resilient airports
system could deliver:
• The connectivity that London
and the UK demands
• True airport competition
• More passenger choice,
better service and lower fares
• Better resilience to disruption
• Less environmental impact
than expanding Heathrow
• An affordable, privately
financed solution

3. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 1
There is already much debate about
possible answers, but we believe it is
important to understand the questions
surrounding the airport capacity debate
before jumping to a solution. We must
consider the unique realities of the London
market and, very importantly, what
passengers want and need for the future.
We need to understand the huge amount
of change that has happened in both the
airline and airport industries over the past
10 years, and what trends we see going
forward. The Airports Commission is rightly
looking forward, rather than simply
reinforcing the past.
Much is already changing in air travel –
from the shift in traffic towards emerging
markets, the emergence of huge new hub
airports in the Gulf, through to the
introduction of new aircraft which will
help long-distance direct flights to bypass
traditional hubs. Within London’s airports
we have seen a transformation. The fact
that the three largest are now separately
owned, and are starting to compete, is a
real game-changer.
We must also understand how the market
really works now. Today, 87% of all
passengers using London’s airports are
simply starting or ending their journeys at
them. This proportion is likely to increase in
the coming years. This means, despite what
the proponents of creating a ‘mega hub’ at
Heathrow or in the Thames Estuary might
say, that the importance of ‘transfer’ or
‘hub’ passengers is exaggerated.
Policy should be framed around the travel
needs of all passengers and not dictated
solely by those who only want to change
planes when they fly through London.
Transfer passengers are important. But they
are very much in the minority, as are the
routes that need their support. The
evidence shows that today there simply
isn’t the need for a ‘mega hub’ in London.
As the Airports Commission goes back
to the drawing board, and looks at all the
options, they will need to ensure that any
recommended solution is deliverable,
environmentally sustainable, and has a
strong business case behind it. Scope for
a degree of political consensus is also key.
Surrounding all this is the crucial need to
deliver certainty to airlines, businesses and
communities.
Having started our detailed analysis in
October 2012, a clear long-term vision for
London and the UK which can meet these
needs has emerged.
Our vision is for three competing major
London airports, each with two runways
eventually, complemented by London City
for business traffic, and Luton and London
Southend for predominately leisure.
The Airports Commission should
recommend where the next single runway
will be built and suggest where the next
one should follow. In making that decision,
the Commission will have to make
recommendations based on clear selection
criteria. I believe that the expansion of
Stewart Wingate
CEO London Gatwick
Foreword by Stewart Wingate
London enjoys world-class air links. It is one of the best-
connected cities in the world, with 134 million passengers
flying in and out each year1
. But while there is spare airport
and terminal capacity right now, London’s status as one of
the world’s most important air transport markets will not last
unless we act soon. We believe London will need a new
runway by the mid-2020s.
87%
of passengers using
London’s airports are
simply starting or ending
their journeys at them.
134m
Each year 134 million
passengers fly in and
out of London.

4. A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty2
Foreword by Stewart Wingate
Gatwick and, in time, perhaps Stansted as
well, provides the best solution, and would
solve the capacity issue for a generation.
More than anything else, I want to see true
passenger choice. So far, the needs of
passengers have been largely lost in the
aviation debate. They should be able to
choose where they fly to and from, and who
they fly with. In the longer term, capacity
has to be matched to the passenger need.
Quite rightly, they want better value fares,
new destinations, higher quality airports
and more convenient door-to-door journeys
each and every time they travel. Our vision,
based on true airport competition, can
deliver those benefits.
Gatwick has already invested more than
£1 billion since the change of ownership in
2009. We’ve opened new direct routes to
some of the fastest growing economies
such as China, Russia, Vietnam, Turkey and
Indonesia. In due course, there is likely to be
a need to provide more regional capacity,
thereby boosting UK connectivity from the
regions. More competition will help to
deliver the enhanced connectivity the UK
economy needs. Where there is passenger
demand, the market should be able to
respond, and in an affordable way.
There is huge potential for a new approach
to air travel, but we do not believe that it
should be at an unacceptable environmental
cost. We just cannot see how mixed mode
or additional runways at Heathrow can
be justified against environmental criteria.
Heathrow’s current noise ‘footprint’ is larger
than all other western European ‘hub’
airports combined.
There is now an opportunity to look to
the future and develop an airport strategy
which will provide benefits to the UK for
decades to come. As the debate continues
and we gather our evidence, we will publish
our findings online at bettersolution.
gatwickairport.com
Gatwick looks forward to playing its part
and doing the detailed work to support its
vision of a competitive network of airports
serving London and the rest of the UK.
Stewart Wingate
CEO London Gatwick
1billion
Since 2009 over £1 billion
has been invested in
Gatwick, with one focus
in mind – our passengers.
BELOW: Gatwick is
striving to deliver
the best passenger
experience now and
for the future.

5. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 3
The connectivity that
the UK needs
Our vision would see all of London’s existing
airports supporting growth in air travel to
strategic destinations. Gatwick is already
supporting new connections to China,
Vietnam, Russia and Turkey. Our vision is
not unique – many of the world’s large cities
have more than one major airport, rather
than a single ‘mega hub’, to deliver the air
travel connections passengers want.
More certainty
We believe our solution is deliverable and
will give passengers, communities and
businesses the certainty they need. We are
confident that, when all the evidence is
taken into account, Gatwick will be the
preferred option for the next runway.
True competition leading
to more passenger choice,
better service and lower fares
Reducing reliance on one dominant airport
will give passengers a greater choice of
carriers and destinations, and would lead
to more competitive prices. Journey times
to home or the office would also be shorter
overall.
Less environmental impact
Three equally sized airports serving
London would have a much lower
environmental impact than simply
expanding Heathrow – whose noise impact
easily exceeds the combined impact of all
the other hub airports in Western Europe2.
With a second runway at Gatwick, there
would still be significantly fewer people
affected by noise than at Heathrow. That
doesn’t mean Gatwick doesn’t take local
community concerns about noise and air
quality seriously – we do.
The case for three airports
with two runways
It would deliver:
An affordable, privately
financed solution
We are backed by a strong group of
experienced shareholders and initial
estimates indicate that a new runway and
airport facilities at Gatwick could be funded
privately and has a viable business case.
We would also share with the Government
a proportion of the cost of improved rail
and road infrastructure.
More economic benefits
spread across the south east
Having three equally sized, well-connected
airports in London would help spread the
economic benefits of airport expansion
across the south east rather than
concentrating it in one location.
Greater resilience to
disruption
By spreading new capacity across different
locations, rather than concentrating it all in
one place, passengers at London’s airports
would be less vulnerable to the effects of
disruption at a single mega hub.
Building on our successful
airports
Our vision means using all of London’s
airports to their full potential, not closing
any of them.
We believe that the best first step in delivering this vision
is to build the next runway at Gatwick.
bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 3

6. A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty4
What is the situation today
and what does the future hold?
In the short term, London’s airport system
has the capacity and connectivity needed
to meet demand.
Theoretically, London’s terminals could
house 32% more passengers than they
do already and its runways could
accommodate around 25% more flights3
.
In practice, no airport should choose to
operate close to 100% of capacity if it wants
to maintain some degree of resilience to
disruption. New runway capacity needs to
be available before this level of usage
is reached across London.
We know that in the 2020s, there will be
a need for extra capacity. London is unique.
We must also remember 87% of passengers
using London’s airports are simply starting
or ending their journeys at them4
. This kind
of demand is known as ‘Origin and
Destination’ (OD) within the aviation
industry. By contrast, only 13% are ‘hubbing’
or transferring to another flight going
elsewhere. This is because London is itself
the largest single market for aviation in the
world. Passengers want to fly to and from it.
Not through it. As such, London should be
seen as the hub for UK air travel – not one
single airport.
In terms of destinations, it is clear that
established markets will continue to be very
important to London’s airport passengers.
Today, Europe, North America, and to a
certain extent the Far East, the Middle East,
and the Indian Sub-continent dominate in
terms of places passengers actually want
to fly to.
Demand to fly to a range of emerging
markets today is small in comparison, but it
will also grow. Whilst today the UK is one of
the best-connected countries in the world,
we will need more direct links with key
markets that are not currently being served.
At Gatwick, we are already playing our part
by opening new direct routes to fast-
growing economies such as China,
Indonesia, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam.
We are achieving that because London is
unique in terms of the size of its air travel
market. Airlines want to fly to and from it.
To put it bluntly, there are enough people
who want to fly to the city directly from
Beijing, Jakarta, Moscow, Istanbul, Hanoi
and Ho Chi Min City for routes to be viable
and in many cases frequent. ‘Hub capacity’
is not a precondition for routes to these
countries. As a result, we are making the
best use of existing capacity and delivering
the direct connections needed to grow
exports and boost inward investment and
tourism from key markets. We will need
more direct air links to ensure the UK
competes. As Gatwick’s new routes show, a
traditional ‘hub’ airport is not the only way
to deliver these.
The Airports Commission is rightly looking
beyond how the aviation industry works
today. In doing so, it is thinking beyond the
traditional responses to the issue of airport
capacity which have been looked at, and
rejected, before. We need to get the
questions right first and build the answers
from there. The fundamental question
should be: what will work for passengers
and what are their future needs?
13%
Only 13% of passengers
at London’s airports are
hubbing or transferring
to another flight going
elsewhere.
LEFT: Gatwick has
opened new direct
routes to emerging
markets such as
Vietnam.
RIGHT: Passengers want
direct connections to
and from London.

7. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 5
London Origin Destination Airport Passengers by Market
(Source: International Air Transport Association PaxIS FY11/12)
(Source: International Air Transport Association PaxIS FY11/12)
London Airport Passengers by Type
Passengers (in millions)
Origin / Destination
Transfer
bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 5
Heathrow
Gatwick
Stansted
Luton
London City
Southend
16
54
33
1.20
18
0.00
10
0.01
3
0.03
0.05
0.00
Origin/Destination
Transfer
Europe 73
Passengers (in millions)
North America 12
Domestic 10
Africa 5
Far East 5
Middle East 3
Indian Sub-continent 3
Australasia 2
Caribbean 1
South Central America 1
China 1
Europe 73
Passengers (in millions)
North America 12
Domestic 10
Africa 5
Far East 5
Middle East 3
Indian Sub-continent 3
Australasia 2
Caribbean 1
South Central America 1
China 1

8. 6
Some people suggest that a lack of ‘hub
capacity’ – which enables airlines to pool
demand from a range of destinations – is
a barrier to economic growth.
They claim that the lack of direct
connections to cities where there is currently
limited demand, such as a number in China,
is “something that the UK should be worried
about5
”.
They argue that capacity must be added
either at Heathrow, or a brand new ‘mega
hub’ built alongside the closure of Heathrow,
in order to ensure we can compete with
countries like France, Germany and the
Netherlands in terms of total number of
flights between China and the UK.
This is, at best, overly simplistic. The reason
why the UK is not directly connected to a
range of smaller cities on the Chinese
mainland today – and some other European
Countries are – has little to do with runways
at the UK’s largest airport being full. It is
almost entirely due to the lack of demand
to fly to these places from the UK.
The graphic to the right shows just how low
that demand is. Today, airlines could choose
to fly to some of these cities direct from
London, just as others do from France or
Germany where, in some cases, demand
is higher. But many do not, because the size
of the potential market does not warrant it.
Where demand to fly from London to
emerging economies exists, it is largely
being met.
A substantial proportion of the demand that
does exist is being met without the need for
more ‘hub capacity’ in London. Many of the
UK’s flights to emerging economies have
very few ‘transfer passengers’ on board
when they take off. For example, less than
5% of passengers flying from Heathrow to
Guangzhou today are transferring at the
London end6
.
Of those passengers that are using
Heathrow as a ‘hub’ airport, the vast
majority (76%) will fly with British Airways
or its One World airline alliance partners,
with only 6% of ‘transfers’ accounted for by
airlines within either the Star Alliance or the
Skyteam alliance7
.
Therefore, for many airlines serving London
– or planning to – ‘hub capacity’ is not
critical to whether they do, or do not, serve
direct routes to and from the city.
The reason why the UK is
not directly connected to
smaller cities in emerging
markets is due to the lack
of demand.
The evidence does not suggest that London’s connectivity
is synonymous with growth at its largest airport, or the
construction of a new mega hub.
The hub capacity myth
66 A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty

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Comparative long haul demand to and from London:
Top 10 destinations vs China
bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 7
0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 3000
New York (JFK)
Dubai
Hong Kong
Los Angeles
New York (EWR)
Boston
Bangkok
Orlando
Singapore
San Francisco
Beijing
Shanghai
Guangzhou
Chengdu
Xiamen
Fuzhou
Shenyang
Nanjing/Nanking
Chongqing
Wuhan
Dalian
Hangzhou
Qingdao
Changsha
Xi An Xianyang
Kunming
Harbin
Top 10
international
destinations
Key:
Passengers per day each way
17 Chinese
destinations

10. A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty8
At Gatwick, all passengers are important
to us – whether flying directly into or from
the airport, or transferring through the
airport like the two million passengers
who do each year. The future needs of
both types of passengers must be
addressed. Our view is that you don’t need
to expand Heathrow or build a new ‘mega
hub’ to cater for their needs.
Aviation policy and transport infrastructure
decisions have consequences that last for
decades. In making such decisions, it is vital
to acknowledge tomorrow’s challenges.
In future, passengers will want to fly to new
destinations. With the growth of emerging
economies, we will see a greater proportion
of passenger demand to fly from London to
these places.
The way passengers use airports, and how
they transfer between flights at them, is
changing. Increasingly, passengers are now
‘self-transferring’ from low cost short haul,
or charter airlines, and on to separately-
owned full service long haul flights. In 2011,
nearly 800,000 passengers at Gatwick
were ‘self-transferring’ between separately
owned airlines8
.
With more than 24 million short haul
passengers a year, Gatwick already has the
UK’s largest short haul and domestic
network. We are connecting passengers to
many key destinations in Europe – from
Frankfurt to Istanbul – and across the UK
regions, including all the main Scottish
airports.
Our long haul network is second only
to Heathrow serving 38 long haul
destinations9
. We are starting to join these
networks together so that a passenger can
take a low cost flight from Edinburgh and
transfer seamlessly to a flight to Beijing.
Regardless of airline, a passenger will be
able to transfer quickly and efficiently from
one flight to the next. We are putting in
place new infrastructure to handle this
process.
Airlines themselves are also working far
more closely together, and not just within
the traditional ‘alliance’ structure.
How will people connect in the future?
LEFT: Gatwick has the
most short haul and
domestic destinations
of any UK airport and
serves many key long
haul routes.
RIGHT: Airlines have
placed significant
orders for Boeing’s
long-range 787
Dreamliner.

11. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 9
Airlines plan to
serve long haul
routes using 787
Dreamliners and
A350s
Airline order books
show less demand
for ‘hubbing’ on
‘trunk routes’
Types and quantity of aircraft on order:
In particular, there has been substantial
growth in interline and code-share
agreements between low cost airlines and
long haul carriers. Around the world,
carriers such as WestJet in Canada, JetBlue
in the US, Virgin Australia and Jetstar in
Australia have already done this with larger
‘network’ carriers operating long
haul routes.
In particular, Jetblue has codeshare flights
with Lufthansa, Qantas, Japan Airlines and
American Airlines, as well as interlining
arrangements with 25 other airlines. These
arrangements enhance the profitability and
reach of the carriers, and enhance the
connecting options of passengers. This is
not just an emerging trend. It is increasingly
a major source of revenue. Etihad Airways,
which is not part of any airline alliance,
report that 19% of its revenues in 2012
originated from airline partnerships10
This has real implications for future runway
infrastructure in the UK. There will always
be a need for ‘transfer’ passengers, which
represent a small proportion of air
passengers, to support the commercial
viability of more marginal routes. But we
must be more innovative in how that need
is met. We should not base decisions on
new runway infrastructure on the way airline
business models work today. The trends
highlighted above are changing the way
the global aviation industry works.
The way passengers use airports in the
future will also reflect the nature of the
aircraft they fly on. Already airlines, which
plan decades ahead when they invest in
new aircraft, have signalled they are moving
away from supporting the traditional ‘hub
and spoke’ model that generates ‘transfer’
passengers. They have placed orders worth
billions for Boeing’s long-range 787
Dreamliner and Airbus A350s, more than
triple the orders for Airbus’s ‘superjumbo’
A380. Passengers will have access to more
direct flights to new destinations that are
further afield. London could increasingly be
bypassed as a transfer point. As a result, the
proportion of ‘transfer’ passengers at its
airports could fall even further.
787 Dreamliner
800
A350
617
A380
260 (90 with
one airline)
0 800 1600
Airlines plan to serve
direct long haul routes.
Order books show less
demand for ‘hubbing’
on ‘trunk routes’ and
more aircraft (787 and
A350) are being
ordered.
The way passengers
use airports is
changing. In 2011,
nearly 800,000
passengers at Gatwick
were ‘self-transferring’
between separately
owned airlines.

12. A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty10
By the mid 2020s, a step change in
London’s airport capacity will be needed.
Although there is spare capacity at
London’s airports today, we do not believe
it will be sufficient to meet the growth in
demand we are likely to see in the next
decade or so. Excess capacity elsewhere
in the UK will not satisfy it either because
the demand from people living in the south
east, or wanting to travel to and from it,
is so high.
We believe there will be a need for new
runways at airports in the south east at
some point in the next decade. And we
must not leave it too late. If we wait until
all of London’s airports are almost full
before creating new capacity, we will put
the UK at a huge competitive disadvantage.
Our vision is for three competing major
London airports, each with two runways.
The competition that could follow would
lead to better connectivity, better service
quality and better value for money for both
passengers and airlines.
We also believe that the building of a
‘mega hub’ or an expanded Heathrow could
actually be detrimental to the UK and
passengers. The market power that has just
been reduced through the break-up of BAA
would be re-established. Fares would rise,
and the incentive to continually improve
service that real competition brings would
be removed.
We believe that London should follow
the model used by other global cities to
develop their airport systems. This
approach has proved extremely successful.
For example, Paris, Frankfurt, Istanbul,
New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Washington DC and many others each have
more than one major airport serving their
needs. Cities such as Beijing and Shanghai
are also pursuing this model. In fact, more
than half of world’s 40 busiest cities for air
travel have a multiple airport approach and
do not have ‘mega hubs’11
.
These global cities have the connectivity
they need, more passenger choice, better
resilience to disruption, and the distribution
of economic benefits and environmental
impacts across a wider area. Gatwick’s
vision has been tried and tested in the
world’s global economies.
However, the additional game changer for
London is the role of competition. Anyone
travelling through Gatwick can see for
themselves how the airport has been
transformed since BAA sold it in 2009.
More than £1 billion of investment has
supported our relentless focus on delivering
the best service for passengers. Our
ambition has been to deliver passenger
choice, convenience, outstanding customer
service and affordability. And crucially, we
are also delivering the new routes that
business and leisure travellers tell us they
want to use.
Gatwick’s vision
We believe that the best first step in delivering this vision
is to build the next runway at Gatwick.
• It will deliver the necessary capacity
and connectivity for a generation
• It will minimise environmental impacts
of expanded capacity
• It will help provide the best passenger
experience
• It will foster competition amongst
airports and airlines
• It is expected to have a viable business
case which avoids significant subsidy
from the public purse
• It will improve resilience of London’s
airports
• It is likely to be the most deliverable
of the available options
10 A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty

13. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 11bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 11
Gatwick already operates the busiest and
most efficient single runway in the world,
offering more destinations than any other
UK airport, and providing the most direct
rail connections and fastest train travel
into London’s West End and financial
districts of the capital’s major airports.
By the mid 2020s London will need more
runway capacity. However, we believe
there are opportunities to improve
efficiency, connectivity and the passenger
experience in the short and medium term.
Key to achieving these aims is to encourage
greater competition between London’s
airports by encouraging a more flexible
approach to pricing, service and quality
levels. We believe increasing competition in
this way will drive more connectivity and
innovation, attracting new airlines and
establishing essential new long haul routes.
Gatwick also has a clear focus on the need
to improve rail services. Although it already
has good rail links, the airport – as well as
some of its airlines – believe more
dedicated, high quality and value for money
services into London are fundamental to
encouraging greater use of its capacity. Key
to this is better, fit-for-purpose rolling stock
for the Gatwick Express. Gatwick believes
this is essential for meeting the specific
needs of airport passengers and current
airlines, but also for attracting new away-
based carriers that consider excellent
onward transport links as a key deciding
factor of where to fly.
In addition, Gatwick also believes that the
level of resilience offered by London’s
airport system should be reviewed,
especially in light of recent disruptions
caused by snow. The London airports, and
particularly Heathrow, should ensure they
have appropriate levels of flexibility in their
slot utilisation to ensure they can recover
quickly from disruption; giving certainty to
passengers that the UK can remain
consistently well connected and served.
While Gatwick operates an efficient service
on the airfield, other short and medium-
term options include the better use of local
air space, runway slots and the airport’s
night flight quota. Gatwick believes local
airspace can be better utilised to create a
more reliable end-to-end service for
passengers.
What would help maximise
connectivity in the short term?
Summary of short-medium term measures:
• Support for the delivery of enhanced rail
and road infrastructure for Gatwick
airport, including the provision of new
rolling stock for the Gatwick Express
• The promotion of competition as a way
of incentivising the best use of existing
runway capacity, and of encouraging
new developments
• Define an acceptable level of capacity
utilisation for major UK airports, with a
view to improved resilience
• Urge the UK Government to support the
European Parliament’s first reading
position during inter-institutional
negotiations on the EU Airports Package
and to implement the final agreed
regulation as soon as possible thereafter
• Recommend a systematic review of
remaining bilateral restrictions with a
view to reducing or eliminating
restrictions
• The retention of the existing night noise
limits at Gatwick

14. A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty12
London Gatwick’s future role:
our emerging view
London Gatwick has laid out
what it believes should be the
key criteria that plans for any
new runway in the south east
should be judged upon.
Gatwick’s runway options work, which uses the Airports Commission sifting
criteria for runway expansion and our own assessment criteria, will form the
basis of our initial proposals.
We believe that the best option for the Airports Commission is to
recommend adding a second runway at Gatwick in the mid-2020s, followed
by another runway, possibly at Stansted, when the need arises.
Enabling Gatwick to grow would solve the connectivity issue for
a generation.
We have identified eight key tests to help the Airports Commission assess
the best options for new capacity around London. These are shown on the
left in the table on the following pages. On the right, we have shown how
Gatwick is already demonstrating it is the best fit against these criteria.
LEFT: Gatwick is connecting
passengers to the economies
which matter the most.
RIGHT: Any airport expansion
must be balanced with the
environmental considerations.

15. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 13
Gatwick’s assessment criteria
Understanding and minimising the
environmental impacts of aviation on local
communities, particularly noise and air
quality, is key. The role of aviation and
airport expansion on climate change also
needs to be considered.
• The evidence shows that there simply isn’t the need for a ‘mega hub’
in London.
• Only 13% of passengers using London’s airports today are ‘hubbing’
or transferring on the same ticket to another flight elsewhere.
• The vast majority of passengers want to fly to and from London – not
through it. As such, London should be seen as the hub for UK air travel
– not one single airport.
• Transfer or ‘hub’ traffic will remain important for some routes – but how
passengers connect in the future will change. Evidence from around the
world shows a growth in partnerships between low cost airlines and long
haul carriers as an alternative to the traditional network carrier model.
• Gatwick has already demonstrated that it can provide connections to
the economies that matter with new direct routes to half of the most
important growth markets in the world12
.
• With more capacity, we can open more routes to more destinations.
A second runway at Gatwick could enable London to meet demand
until at least 2050.
• Our vision of three major airports each with two runways would spread the
environmental impacts of maintaining and growing the UK’s connectivity
to the world across the south east.
• Runway expansion, wherever it happens, will have both local and national
environmental impacts including noise, air quality and carbon dioxide
emissions. Gatwick will be very sensitive to local environmental concerns,
and if a second runway is recommended by the Commission, we will look
to use the best practices available to mitigate the adverse impacts of
additional aircraft.
• The number of people affected by a new runway would be very
significantly lower at Gatwick than at Heathrow.
• The environmental impact of a third Heathrow runway, let alone a fourth,
would be huge. Already, 243,000 people are adversely affected by noise
from Heathrow13
. The Department for Transport has highlighted how
Heathrow’s noise ‘footprint’ is currently larger than all other major western
European airports combined14
. This can only increase if Heathrow expands
with additional runway capacity.
• Gatwick Airport has never breached nitrogen dioxide limits and, based on
previous studies, would not expect to do so with the addition of a second
runway.
• Heathrow Airport regularly breaches the European limit for nitrogen
dioxide at monitoring sites around the airport. A third runway at Heathrow
would mean that 35,000 people would be exposed to levels above
legal limits15
.
Demand Capacity and Connectivity
Environmental impact
It is critical that we keep London and the
UK connected to the rest of the world by
providing capacity in time to meet the
needs of air passengers. It is vital therefore
that the Commission fully assesses what that
level of demand is in the UK, and for the
south east in particular, and how each
option can satisfy that demand.

16. A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty14
Gatwick’s assessment criteria
Part of the rationale behind the break-up
of the BAA monopoly was to improve the
passenger experience. The role of
competition between independently owned
airports is therefore a new factor to be
assessed by the Commission. An assessment
should be made on the effects on airport
and airline competition on each expansion
option and the implications of that on
passengers with regard to air fares, quality
of service and passenger experience.
• Often, customers pay more to monopoly service providers than to
competitors. It is no different for airports. Already, we know that
dominant hub airports result in higher air fares, especially in the
absence of effective competition from other airports17
.
• Gatwick’s vision could provide real scope for true airport competition
to take root, which will encourage fares to fall and services to improve
everywhere.
Competition
Passengers should be central to this debate.
All options should be assessed against
whether they offer passengers the greatest
convenience and choice as they travel to
and through an airport.
• We believe passengers greatly value the ability to have a choice of
airport – whether for the connections provided, the quality of services
or having the convenience of using an airport near home or the office
(minimising travel times). A single mega hub (whether in the Estuary or at
Heathrow) would remove choice from the end-to-end passenger
experience and force a ‘one mega-size’ fits all approach.
• A truly competitive network of London airports will create even greater
incentives for airports to provide the travel experience that passengers
expect and the Competition Commission envisioned in 2009. Put simply,
if the experience is not good enough, passengers and airlines will ‘vote
with their feet’16
. In a competitive world, airports will do their utmost to
provide the very best experience for passengers.
End-to-end passenger experience
LEFT TO RIGHT: Passengers
want choice and convenience
- from transport links and
dedicated services suiting
their needs, to shops and
food outlets.

17. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com 15
The business case for any expansion option
is critical and options should be assessed
against the part they can play in providing
economic growth – locally and nationally.
The ability to finance any expansion option
should also be a key assessment criteria
with a focus on using private investments
to avoid significant subsidy from the public
purse.
• We are backed by a group of experienced shareholders and initial
estimates indicate that a new runway and airport facilities at Gatwick
could be funded privately. We would also share with the Government
a proportion of the cost of improved rail and road infrastructure.
Financial and economic factors
Airports have significant impacts on local
communities – positive and negative – and
these should be taken into account. The
social benefits of air travel should be
maximised, whilst minimising the impacts
on people and communities.
• Our vision of three major airports each with two runways would spread
the economic and social benefits, as well as any negative impacts, of
airport expansion across the south east rather than concentrating it in
one location.
• A mega hub runs the risk of concentrating all the associated economies
of an airport in one area, so would have negative impacts on existing
businesses and communities surrounding London’s airports.
Social and community issues
Any expansion option should include an
assessment of resilience, including how
extreme weather scenarios would be
accommodated in the expansion options
proposed.
• Concentrating new capacity in one place is a recipe for more travel
disruption.
• Gatwick’s vision would, by distributing new runway capacity around
different locations, result in less scope for disruption caused by, for
example, severe weather than if new capacity was concentrated in
one place.
• The situation where hundreds of flights are cancelled at Heathrow
premptively could, under Gatwick’s vision, be avoided in future.
Resilience

18. A better solution for London the UK Connectivity, competition certainty16
The issue of deliverability is important
given the timetable that has been set for
the Commission and the fact that the three
major airports in the south east will be full
by the mid-2020s. It is vital that expansion
options are assessed against how quickly
and efficiently they can be delivered
through the planning and construction
phases.
• Gatwick is already the best connected airport by rail in the UK, and
connected to a major motorway.
• Much of the supporting infrastructure at Gatwick needed to ensure
passengers can access new runway capacity is in place or supported by
existing Government spending plans. Delivering Gatwick’s vision would
not require the movement of, or tunnelling under any motorways, the
reclaiming of any land from the sea, or the construction of any extension
to the London Underground network.
• Land has already been set aside for a new runway at Gatwick in
accordance with Government policy18
.
• In every sense, a second runway at Gatwick could be not just affordable
and sustainable, but deliverable as well. A decision to support expansion
at Heathrow would just result in more years of delay.
Deliverability
Gatwick’s assessment criteria
LEFT: Committed to
getting passengers away
on time.
BELOW: Land set aside for
a new runway at Gatwick.

19. To learn more about London Gatwick and its vision
please visit bettersolution.gatwickairport.com
On the site you’ll find further details on:
• All our submissions to the Airports Commission
• Information on the airport, its history and future plans
• How we are competing for passengers
• How passengers travel
• Where we connect to
• Gatwick and the economy
• Gatwick and the environment
More information
1
Airports Council International (ACI) IATA PaxIS
Database.
2
Department for Transport’s Draft Aviation Policy
Framework.
3
Civil Aviation Authority and Dft Passenger
Forecasts (January 2013).
4
International Air Transport Association Passenger
Intelligence Service (PaxlS).
5
Heathrow Airport, One hub or no hub
(November 2012).
6
Between September 2011-2012. This figure includes
a small % of passengers transferring at both ends of
the flight. International Air Transport Association
(IATA) PaxIS Database and OAG Schedule data
over the period.
7
DIIO FMg Database.
8
York Aviation, London Assembly Transport
Committee: Technical Advice and Support for
Investigation into Airport Capacity (April 2012).
9
OAG Schedule based on peak week in August 2013.
10
http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/japan-
airlines-and-jetstar-japan-embrace-lcc-hybridity-
codesharing---and-reap-rewards-99499.
11
Airports Council International (ACI).
12
As identified in Goldman Sachs Asset Management,
It is time to re-define Emerging Markets, (January
2011).
13
Defined by number of people living within
Heathrow’s 57 Db Leq Noise contour and shown in
CAA, ERCD Report 1201, Noise Exposure Contours
for Heathrow Air 2011(September 2012).
14
Department for Transport, Draft Aviation Policy
Framework (July 2012) refers to Frankfurt, Paris
CDG, Amsterdam Schipol and Madrid.
15
Department for Transport, The Future
Development of Air Transport in the United
Kingdom: South East (February 2003).
16
Gatwick Airport, Airport Competition: Competing
to Grow and become London’s airport of choice,
(November 2011).
17
I. Kincaid and M. Tretheway, “The Effect of Market
Structure on Airline Prices: A Review
of Empirical Results: Journal of Air Law and
Commerce, Volume 70, Issue 3, Summer 2005.
18
Department for Transport, Aviation Policy
Framework, (March 2013).

20. bettersolution.gatwickairport.com