Regulation in the passenger interest, supporting investment and
driving competition  Date: 03 October 2013  The UK Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA) has today published for consultation
its final proposals for the economic regulation of Heathrow and
Gatwick airports to protect passengers after April 2014.  The
proposals are tailored so each airport remains globally
competitive and can deliver the customer experience that
passengers expect of airports in the 21st century. They
challenge airports to operate more efficiently, and to work more
closely with airlines to develop competitive offerings for
travellers.  Heathrow has called for a 4.6% annual real-terms
increase in its charges over five years. Its airlines have asked
for a 9.8% per year cut. We propose a price control that will
not allow prices to rise by more than inflation (measured by
RPI). That compares to our initial proposals for RPI minus 1.3%.
A key reason for this is due to an increase in the cost of
capital driven by higher debt costs, offset to s