When the Competition Commission reversed the order of the sale process placed on BAA, meaning either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airport would be sold before Stansted, the assumption of many was that Glasgow would be "het".
Glasgow Airport was the favourite to go in many eyes simply because of the recent comparative track record of the two airports, but thankfully it didn't turn out that way.
If you look at the future prospects of the two cities, in the long run I think Glasgow had an awful lot more to offer.
I'm very positive about the prospects for the Glasgow economy because of engineering, whisky, renewables, life sciences, tourism and financial services. There's a lot of growth potential which has obviously has influenced the attractiveness of Glasgow Airport as an investment in BAA's eyes.
If Glasgow had been sold, the Chamber would have been ambivalent about the sale. It would have depended on the buyer. An owner who bought it for a good price in a poor market and had limited resources to invest in infrastructure of route development wouldn't have been an attractive outcome. The flip side could have been a buyer willing to invest in the long term.
However I'm glad it didn't come to that roll of the dice, because of the effect it would have had on the existing BAA management team. We think they are doing an excellent job in promoting Glasgow Airport's assets and attracting in new flights over what remain tough times.
The very fact that they've attracted Eastern Airlines to Stavanger, Air Nostrum to Madrid, easyJet to Amsterdam, Jet2 to Barcelona - plus just recently the increased capacity to Heathrow from British Airways to replace some of that lost with BMI - shows that they're busy fighting on a weekly basis to win these deals.
This management team is a valued asset to us and we are delighted we are able to hang on to it. The clarity of the decision gives Glasgow Airport stability for the years ahead following three years of uncertainty during which the issue was hanging over the heads of management and staff.
The airport can now begin to focus solely on investment and growth, attracting routes and investing in its assets, all with a view to increasing the access which Glasgow business has to its international markets and in helping to attract visitors to Scotland.
That's what Glasgow Airport and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce are committed to and we will continue to support the management team in its efforts.
