Heathrow's third runway wins backing of Parliament—but Not British Airways

London Heathrow’s GBP16b (US$21b) expansion plan may have cleared its last major political hurdle, but the project has yet to convince British Airways, the hub’s biggest customer. After UK lawmakers backed the construction of a third runway by 415 votes to 119 late Monday, IAG responded by saying that the financing arrangements proposed by Heathrow are likely to increase user charges and effectively require present-day passengers to fund future flights. “Parliament has approved Heathrow’s expansion without any idea of how much it will cost,” IAG CE Willie Walsh said. “We have zero confidence in Heathrow management’s ability to deliver this project while keeping airport charges flat.” While Heathrow has pledged to keep charges close to today’s level, Walsh predicted “massive cost escalation” for the project in coming years. <br/>