Monday 26 July 2010

Heathrow Taxis "Trade Show"?




This photograph was taken in front of the model of Concorde that has now been replaced by the Airbus A380 as you leave Heathrow Airport.


It is a group photo of nineteen Heathrow Airport Licensed Taxis (HALT) members and committee members taken in 1997, and uses the iconic image of Concorde to symbolise the desire to "reach for the stars". That was the original aim, but like Concorde, HALT has been "mothballed" before its time.



HALT was set up to promote the interests of taxi drivers at Heathrow, but after a chequered history, it has now been hijacked by a small handful of the original committee who have set up their own private company called Heathrow Airport Licensed Taxis Society (HALTS), and have tried to convince drivers that they have done this to save the "floundering" mutual society known as HALT. Surely it can't be a coincidence that this new company uses the similar acronym HALTS; could this be part of their intention to convince drivers they still have a say at Heathrow? Many drivers are already getting the feeling that they are being side lined by these changes, and are beginning to wonder where it all went wrong.


HALTS has now begun to establish itself at Heathrow, and it uses the trading name "Heathrow Taxis". After all, the name HALTS may well have served its purpose, and a more corporate image would benefit such a group of ambitious individuals who may have spotted a "golden opportunity" of their own making.


Heathrow Taxis is holding a "trade show" at their new premises close to Heathrow Airport on Tuesday 27th, and Wednesday 28th July 2010. How successful this so called trade show turns out to be depends on how good its directors are at keeping up the subterfuge.

1 comment:

  1. If a private company is now running the taxi desks at Heathrow, why are drivers still required to pay the 76pence HALT levy?

    This was a requirement under the Civil Aviation Authority's recommendations when it was established that no tender for contract should be sought because the mutal society worked for the benefit of Heathrow taxi drivers. As the desks are now run by a private company, surely the contract should have been put out to tender first!!!

    Are drivers now subsidising the share holders of a private company that is running the desks for shareholder profits? If they are, I would like to be one of the directors of this company, after all, this represents over £850,000.00 (eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds)a year just in gate money collected......

    Just collecting that amount of gate money is enough to keep a couple of directors in clover; even if half of the money is used to fund the desks. That would work out to something like £200,000.00 a year for the two directors after expenses......!!!

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