Originally Posted by
ag51
No, this area is owned by Network Rail - not sure what the leasing arrangement was with the airlines (or BAA) but lack of use caused the closure in the end, as it did with the check-in area above the Gatwick Express platforms at Victoria. Shops are not just more profitable, but actually more useful for the vast majority of people passing through Paddington.
I meant to say BAA leased the area rather than owned. But old threads said that BAA had the lease to the area and thought shops would be more profitable.
What was there before the check-in desks? Originally shops, part of the Hilton, railway offices...?