The new group director of consumers and markets for UK regulator the CAA says she hopes to see a more collaborative approach emerge between Heathrow and airlines.

The UK’s hub airport is currently going through a regulatory H8 pricing review that will set the framework for how it operates from 2027.

Selina Chadha told delegates at the Airlines 2024 conference in London this week that the regulator has identified the need for more engagement in the process.

She said the regime for Gatwick is “in a better place” than it is for Heathrow and likely to result in agreement both sides are comfortable with and the CAA is happy it is right for customers.

A somewhat more fraught negotiation is expected for Heathrow which airline operators accuse of being a monopoly provider and around twice as expensive to operate at than any other hub.

Chadha, who joined the CAA three months ago having previously oversaw regulation at Ofcom, said: “I have worked on price controls a lot throughout my career.

“I have come from an environment where we had OpenReach on the one side and downstream broadband providers on the other.

“They are naturally going to have different views on where the price point should land. I’m hoping that constructive engagement is going to get us to a better place.”

Chadha called for improved “information flows” to ensure that airlines are able to access the information they need and then the CAA, as the regulator, can do more.

“I would like to think that at the end of the day it’s not the CAA’s job arbitrate between the two sides. It’s the CAA’s job to get the best for consumers. That’s your north star.

“The starting point is the industry needs to move to be more collaborative for us to know that that will work within the timescales that’s best for everyone.”

Chadha said a lighter touch regulatory regime where possible has “got to be right for the industry”.

And she said she would like the regulator to operate as more of an enforcer to make sure there is compliance to regimes across the aviation sector to minimise disruption to passengers.

“I would like to collect better data around compliance…about how the industry is doing. What you are really looking to do is to lift standards.”

She added: “That enforcement piece is really important because that enable us to be more agile and to take action quickly. Not wasting time taking different entities to court.

“But you have to make examples, set standards and then people need to understand what it means to comply.”

Chadha was asked if she was in favour a “being a regulator with teeth”. “Absolutely, yes,” she replied.

A second priority for Chadha is to improve communication between the industry, the CAA and passengers when there is disruption.

She said the regulator will look to conduct some consumer research about their experiences and what would be helpful in terms of providing information when things do go wrong.

“Consumers respond really well when we tell them more, tell them why there’s a delay,” she said, “it invokes and much more empathetic understanding and response.

“There’s some really great practice out there at the moment that’s raising the bar and so it’s about rolling that out across the industry.”