Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Peel Group buys back the 65% of Liverpool airport that it sold in 2010 – now owns 100%
The Peel Group has retaken control of the loss-making Liverpool John Lennon Airport less than 4 years after selling it to Canadian group, Vantage. It has bought the 65% of the airport it sold in June 2010 back from Vantage Airports UK Peel had retained a 35% stake. . The change of ownership is effective immediately and Peel will now become the sole owner of the airport company. Liverpool airport posted a pre-tax loss of £7.1m on turnover of £31.6m in the year to 31 March 2013. In the 2013 accounts, auditor KPMG said the airport faced "material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern". Negotiations with banks were ongoing with a 31 March deadline. Vantage hads decided to focus solely on the North American market and is leaving the UK. Vantage had already sold its interest in Doncaster airport. Liverpool has suffered from competition on cheap fares from Manchester. Passenger levels through Liverpool peaked in 2008 at 5.4m and fell to 4.2m in 2013.
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Residents at Gatwick Airport’s exhibitions disappointed not to have a “no to 2nd runway” consultation option
Gatwick Airport has a massive budget for publicity in order to promote its plans for a 2nd runway. They have laid on a series of exhibitions at places across the area, hoping to get a good level of approval for their wide spaced runway, for landings and take-offs on both runways ( their option 3). However, their "consultation" is more of a PR exercise, as there is no proper option by which anyone can say NO to any new runway. [There is one small box, "None of these options" hidden in Section D on Page 7, which is the ONLY way anyone can express a NO vote]. The majority of those attending the exhibitions appear to be uncertain whether they back a 2nd runway, many are ambivalent, and many are strongly opposed. That is not what Gatwick was hoping for. Many attending the exhibitions have been angered by the absence of a proper NO option on the forms, as well as the total absence of any maps indicating likely flight paths, and detail on road and rail congestion. A resident commented: "...There is an option ... for 'none of the above', but this is not the same as voting for no runway at all which is what I think a lot of people are still hoping for."
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Head of Gatwick Diamond tries to make out that a “silent majority” want a 2nd runway (they just don’t bother to say so)
The Gatwick Diamond is a business organisation, whose mission is to boost business in a large area around Gatwick, in all directions. They do not appear to have much environmental awareness, and have a blinkered approach of backing anything that might bring "growth." Needless to say, they give their unwavering, and uncritical, support for a 2nd Gatwick runway. There are self-interest motives for many of their members in doing so. The airport has organised a recent spate of exhibitions across the area, promoting its runway, and with a "consultation" (which gives no proper option for those responding to say NO to a runway). Despite the huge amount of money it has cost, it appears Gatwick has found the majority attending are either against its plans, or deeply sceptical. This is confirmed by the local community group, GACC, which has had a presence outside each exhibition. Now the head of the Gatwick Diamond, Jeremy Taylor, has said there is huge backing from a "silent majority" for the runway, but they just have not expressed it. Jeremy - this is how democracy works. If people do not turn up to vote for an election, it does not matter what they might have thought, sitting at home. If you don't vote, your vote does not get counted. Governments are not elected into power because somehow we manage to divine the views of those not voting.
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Flybe to start routes from London City Airport to UK and European destinations
Flybe is to offer more flights from London City Airport - from October - after signing a 5-year deal. There will be routes to and from Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Inverness and Exeter. Flybe hopes these will carry about 500,000 passengers a year. Exeter-based Flybe is seeking to revive its fortunes after losses forced it to shrink its operations, close regional bases and cut hundreds of jobs. It also sold 25 pairs of arrival and departure slots at Gatwick to Easyjet for £20m. In its last set of financial results, Flybe reported pre-tax profits of £13.8m for the 6 months to 30 September, compared with a loss of £1.6m a year earlier. Earlier this year, the airline raised £150m to help fund expansion. Flybe currently operates 171 routes in 16 countries. It will also introduce to services to European ski resorts from London City airport (vital business links??), as well as to destinations in France and northern Spain.
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Gatwick employs high profile PR man Godric Smith (ex Tony Blair, Olympics, BBC) to boost runway campaign
Gatwick airport is spending a lot of money (the figure of £10 million for their PR budget has been mentioned, but this may be an under-estimate) on their lobbying to win over key hearts and minds to their runway plan. Their new campaign, with glossy adverts on the underground, large numbers of public presentations etc "Gatwick Obviously" is spending lavishly. Now Gatwick has announced that they are employing a high profile PR consultant, Godric Smith, to help them in their political battle against Heathrow, for the runway. Godric used to work as spokesman for Tony Blair. He then worked on communications for the Olympics. He was also brought in to the BBC (part time, at £150,000 per year) to sort out their bad publicity issues. Godric Smith has his own consultancy called Incorporated London. Gatwick already has existing relationships for public relations with Fishburn and London Communications Agency. Godric Smith is said to have extensive Whitehall experience and "first-class contacts across the spectrum and a very good understanding of how government works". The airport is also reviewing its digital and consumer agencies.
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Bloomberg says Heathrow claim that 3rd runway would mean lower air fares takes “a flight of imagination”
A report - by Frontier Economics - released by Heathrow last week, as part of its lobbying effort, sought to put a price on the way the airport has chosen to run at almost full capacity. The study makes out that the cost of building the new runway, terminal, changes to the road network, compensating people etc would only add £20 per ticket. Interestingly, Bloomberg Businessweek says "Heathrow officials did not respond to e-mails seeking comment" on these remarkable figures. A footnote buried on page 11 of the Frontier Economics study "notes that calculations for how much fares would fall once a 3rd runway were operational are “complicated by airline price setting,” which is typically focused on “maximizing profitability.” Indeed. " Bloomberg is not convinced that air fares would necessarily fall if a new runway was built. They cite examples of new runways in the USA, where prices have merely risen. They also say the airline alliances would make fare cuts unlikely. Airlines have no interest in cutting fares. Bloomberg says: "selling the project as a fare-lowering exercise takes a flight of imagination."
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Flight Global looks at the impacts of a new south east runway on environmental constraints
Flight Global have looked at the environmental issues involved in building a new runway in the south-east. They consider noise, and appreciate that Heathrow has a serious problem and a political issue. Gatwick makes much of the lower numbers of people overflown by planes near the airport. The government has yet to decide if it will establish an independent noise ombudsman, to deal with noise issues. Even if this is introduced, Tim Johnson (Director of AEF - the Aviation Environment Federation) says “whether it has any real contribution to make over the next couple of years is quite doubtful”. Another key environmental concern linked to airport expansion is local air quality – an issue which Tim Johnson does not believe has been addressed sufficiently. The NOx pollution, largely from road traffic associated with an airport, is expensive to reduce. Colin Matthews has said that “to fix air quality at Heathrow [you need to] replace the fleet of diesel engines coming down the M4”. [How about the M25 too? ] An extra runway can only be fitted within UK carbon targets by not requiring aviation to cut its CO2 emissions cf. their 2005 level.
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Frontier Economics report for Heathrow makes out that a 3rd runway will mean lower fares
Heathrow airport has commissioned a report from Frontier Economics (a firm that has done a lot of pro-expansion reports for the industry), and it makes out that air fares will fall if a 3rd Heathrow runway is built. It is not a brilliant report. But it said what Heathrow wanted it to say. Only the FT and the Telegraph bothered to report this story. Frontier economics says the price of slots at Heathrow would fall (which they probably would) if there was a 3rd runway, as with so many new slots, it would not be possible to sell them for the prices charged today. Frontier economics say a long haul holiday would be cheaper at Heathrow in future, with a new runway. The FT comments that: "Aviation analysts said it would be difficult to calculate the saving." Indeed. The numbers are very speculative.The report is strangely silent on the - not inconsiderable - matter of the cost of building a new runway, at either Heathrow or Gatwick, and the costs needed to give a reasonably return to the investors. The Frontier Economics report contains some very contorted arguments, with some highly contrived conclusions - with much speculation.
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Hundreds turn out for first week of Gatwick 2nd runway consultation meetings
Gatwick Airport's public consultation about its 2nd runway plans have continued to draw hundreds of people to meetings and sparked a renewed protest campaign. While local residents have packed consultation meetings the Gatwick Airport Conservation Campaign (GACC) has renewed its call for the proposals to be dropped with a new drive called “Gatwick's Big Enough.” GACC has attacked the consultation itself as a “phoney” - with no proper option to say NO. New action groups have formed against the second runway proposals, in the wake of the formation of CAGNE. Gatwick Airport says at the Crawley exhibition there were 690 people; 350 at Rusper; about 370 in Smallfield; 340 in Ifield, 300 in Lingfield; 275 in Felbridge; and around 180 as far away as Epsom. GACC volunteers have been giving out leaflets and recruiting members outside the runway exhibitions. A high proportion of those attending the exhibitions are stunned by the scale of development, puzzled why there are no flight path maps, and opposed to the massive changes planned to a wide area of Surrey and Sussex.
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Australian government approves construction of 2nd Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek
The Australian government has approved the construction of a 2nd large airport at Badgerys Creek, in western Sydney, about 45 km west of the central business district. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said planning and design work would start immediately, with construction expected to begin in 2016. The first flights might take place by the mid-2020s. Funding would come mostly from the private sector. The idea for this airport has been around for decades, but plans to put it at Badgerys Creek were shelved for fear of backlash from local voters. Mr Abbott has made it clear he wants a curfew-free airport, so it can have flights all night. Sydney's current airport is only 8km away from the city and it operates with a curfew between 23:00 and 06:00. Opponents of building the airport at Badgerys Creek say there are better ways of dealing with airport capacity demand, by locating regional flights and cargo flights to two other nearby airports. Sydney airport already has 2 runways and is only up to 80 aircraft movements per hour during the morning and afternoon peaks. They say it is likely, due to pricing changes and competition, the new airport is unlikely to pay back its investors for years, and that proper studies of alternatives have not been looked at properly.