Mr. Willie Walsh:

We operate the global hub. Most countries have one hub although some countries try to develop a second hub. We operate the international hub, the value of which is hugely significant. I am sure the Senator has heard the debate in the United Kingdom about the value the hub brings to the economy of the United Kingdom. By operating a hub, one can serve destinations that cannot be viable in isolation from other airports because they require significant traffic feed. That is particularly true for flights to what normally are labelled developing economies, which are huge economies today. One also gets the opportunity to operate greater frequency of services, which is extremely valuable to business. We actually generate huge value to the United Kingdom's economy by operating the hub at Heathrow. I can tell the Senator the airports he talks about are delighted to be connected to the British Airways network. We have 55 Heathrow slots assigned to the United Kingdom domestic market. If one wants to put the value of that, it is nearly €3 billion if one wishes to use that average.