For sale: bargain Heathrow slots

Who would have thought selling slots at London's congested Heathrow airport could be this hard?

A few years back, as US, Middle Eastern and Indian carriers piled into Heathrow, slot prices boomed.

Now, as this interesting story from The Times says, the recession means shifting these once priceless assets is no easy matter, at least for anything approaching a decent price assuming a buyer is around.

For loss-making bmi, which is essentially built around the value of its Heathrow slot portfolio, and desperately needs cash in the next year, this is a body blow.

The fall in slot values is however only going to be a temporary measure, but it looks as if temporary could be a couple of years rather than months, and that is not good news for bmi or parent Lufthansa as they seek to revive the ailing UK carrier.