General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Channel Tunnel Commission grants Deutsche Bahn operating licence for its trains to use the Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) which oversees access to the Channel Tunnel has granted a ‘Certificate B’ operating licence to Deutsche Bahn (DB). This paves the way for more work to enable the introduction of DB’s long-planned high speed services between Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Köln and London. These services had at one point been scheduled to launch this year, but due to many delays are unlikely to start before 2016. DB intends to use pairs of Siemens trains for the London routes but these have in turn been subject to protracted production and approval delays. A further significant hurdle is border and immigration control, as the UK is not a signatory to the Schengen agreement and the UK Border Agency only does border checks now at Lille, Paris and Brussels. Passengers using Eurostar’s trial service from Aix-en-Provence TGV to London this summer have to leave their train at Lille to go through immigration procedures. Over time the DB services could add ‘between 3 and 4 million passengers per year’ to the 10 million already using Eurostar.
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Speculation that Maplin might be looked at again as an airport – ruled out for very good reasons in 1974
ABy 19th July, all outline proposals airport plans need to be submitted to the Airports Commission (see below). There will be a great many, some more serious contenders than others. At this stage, the Commission does not require detailed design and assessment materials and limits submissions to 40 pages. Unsurprisingly, there is speculation that schemes like Maplin could be dug up and submitted. Maplin Sands was considered as a possible airport in the early 1970s, under Edward Heath. The plan was abandoned in June 1974, after the oil price rose and the it was decided that the Maplin Development Authority should not spend any more money. Maplin was mentioned, in passing, in a reply to a question in the Lords - which did not rule it out. In reality, it is inaccessible and in the wrong place. It would be unworkable and hugely expensive, as well as the problem of needing to move the military firing range from Shoeburyness, and clearing the site of projectiles. Not a likely runner.
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Demonstration of the pitfalls of polls: 2 polls. Same place. Same issue. Utterly different results
It is curious that the Hillingdon survey recently sent questionnaires to all 205,634 residents on their electoral role, and got 80,457 responses. Of these responses, 66% said No in reply to the question: "Are you in favour of more flights into and out of Heathrow? Yes/no". Richmond Council recently also sent out 136,880 questionnaires, and 58,953 responses were received, of which 82% replied NO to the same question. Link to Hillingdon and Richmond poll results . However, in the Populus poll for Heathrow, in response to the question: "Taking everything you know into account, do you currently support or oppose expanding Heathrow?" they say that of the 1,000 or so Hillingdon residents questionned, 47% were opposed and of the 1,000 or so residents in Richmond, 51% were opposed. So with a survey size some 80 times larger, the Hillingdon response was substantially more negative (66% cf. 47%) and with a survey size some 60 times larger, the Richmond response was also substantially more negative, (82% cf. 51%).
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Heathrow Airport to provide funding to set up pro-Heathrow expansion group
Heathrow Airport has announced that it will provide seed funding for a new community campaign "to provide a voice for the thousands of local people who support Heathrow". Plans for the campaign are in their early stages but it said it will seek to establish itself and start identifying and recruiting support before the end of the year. The announcement comes on the back of polling results Heathrow released today which claims almost half the people in the boroughs closest to the airport favour its expansion. The Populus telephone poll took place between 27th February and 4th May, and questionned 6,000 residents in Hounslow, Richmond, Hillingdon, Windsor and Spelthorne. It found that 46% support expanding Heathrow, compared to 43% who oppose expansion. They say 60% of residents feel positive towards Heathrow compared to 6% who feel negatively. In reality, it is well known that the results of a poll depend on the wording of questions, and how they are asked. Previous surveys have shown most residents are opposed to expansion - and many other residents should be questioned in other boroughs to get full data.
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Richmond Heathrow Campaign say Heathrow does not need to be expanded to better service more passengers, and to more destinations
The Richmond Heathrow Campaign have made a submission to the Airports Commission on making best short and medium term use of Heathrow. They say Heathrow can be improved, and the amount of aircraft noise caused by Heathrow flights reduced, if there is a (1). More even distribution of aircraft movements across each hour of the day to avoid disruption and delay in peak hours and to end night flights. (2). Increase the seating capacity of the Heathrow air fleet (i.e. more larger aircraft and fewer small aircraft), in order to increase the number of passengers per aircraft movement within the 480,000 movements limit operating in unbroken segregated mode. (3). Reverse the strategy of attracting ever more transfer passengers to Heathrow, in order to free up terminal and aircraft capacity for more terminating passengers within the legal limit of 480,000 movements limit operating in unbroken segregated mode. The Campaign says reducing 20 million transfers a year would free up runway capacity in whole or in part for around 140,000 flights a year from over-subscribed destinations to new destinations. There is a similar improvement as loads are increased from 149 to 187 passengers per flight.
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Airlines selling expensive meal upgrades to economy class passengers, for foie gras, duck confit etc, to boost profits
Airlines are always keen to find new ways to extract money from their customers. Now several airlines have begun selling gourmet food to the passengers in the cheap seats, for a price. In February Air France has started tempting economy-class customers with paid-for meal upgrades featuring foie gras terrine. eg. duck confit with mushrooms and sauteed potatoes, followed by Opera cake for dessert, costing €18. So-called ancillary sales ranging from food to overhead-bin space have jumped more than tenfold to $36 billion since 2007, amounting to 5% of the total $680 billion earned by airlines in 2012. They are expected to rise to $50 billion per year by 2019 or so. “The low-cost carriers have taken ancillary revenue from a normal way of doing business and turned it almost into an art form.” Revenue streams that remain untapped -- in-flight entertainment, wireless access and shopping -- could be worth $5 billion. “When people get on board an aircraft, they’re actually in a great retail mindset. About an hour into the flight, they start to relax and their mind opens.Opening their wallets, too, has become a major ambition of airlines". So much for the fake concern about the odd few $$s or €€s in aviation taxes on their "hard working family" passengers.
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Heathrow’s latest plan for southern 3rd runway “R3S” would be death to Stanwell Moor
Plans by Heathrow to build a third runway to the south west of the existing runways have met with dismay by those who would have their homes demolished, and their local area ruined. The new southern runway, already dubbed “R3S”, is regarded as both cheaper and more attractive than the northern option. Simon Calder says it would be used exclusively by smaller jets – the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 series – which are somewhat less noisy than wide-bodied aircraft. Also that the eastern end of the new runway would be located about a mile further west than the existing two runways. Arriving and departing aircraft would therefore be significantly higher when flying over the capital. Heathrow apparently also says there would be no need for a 6th terminal, as the runway could be accessed from Terminal 4 (Skyteam alliance) and Terminal 5 (BA). Much of the land on which the new runway would be built is currently covered by airport-related buildings, including cargo warehouses and car parks. Simon Calder thinks these could be re-located "with little fuss". But the western end would encroach on Stanwell Moor, a post-war development less than a mile from Terminal 5, where residents have not been consulted in any way on the proposals.
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CAA produces its consultation on its statutory duty to provide information (including environmental information)
The CAA has launched its consultation on the implementation of its new statutory duty to provide information. The various consultation papers can be found on the CAA’s website. The CAA says that under the Civil Aviation Act 2012, it has "new duties and powers to provide information to users of air transport to assist them in comparing services and facilities, and to the general public about the environmental impact of aviation." However, it seems that the CAA is adopting a minimalist and inadequate approach to the provision of environmental information - which is disappointing. It had been hoped that the CAA might have agreed to take its new duty to provide environmental information more seriously. However, the CAA is asking if it should develop a standardised methodology for calculating CO2 emissions - more accurate than those offered by airlines - and presenting it to consumers so they can assess flight emissions. The consultation closes on 31 August and the CAA will publish its final Statement of Policy in Winter 2013.
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Guardian looks into All-Party Parliamentary Groups, their lobbying, outside support and funding
Recent incidents showing Members of the House of Lords accepting money for lobbying have increased interest in the system of so called "All Party Parliamentary Groups". The Guardian says that corporations and outside interest groups have funnelled more than £2.2m in sponsorship, research support and freebies to MPs and peers through all-party parliamentary groups, a rise of 22% since last year. The Speaker has suspended 80 Commons security passes pending a standards committee inquiry into the all-party parliamentary groups which give these passes to lobbyists, allowing them unsupervised and regular access to much of parliament and its accompanying offices. There is an All Party Parliamentary Group for Aviation, which receives benefits from industry lobbyists. These groups allow those outside parliament to engage in informal discussion with MPs interested in a particular topic. There are concerns that these groups provide a channel for lobbyists to gain influence.
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Airlines’ call for global emissions deal not convincing – too slow and relying on out-of-sector offsets
IATA, the trade body comprising 240 airlines worldwide, has finally acknowledged the need for a global market–based measure (MBM) to reduce aviation's contribution to climate change. IATA called on their airline members to encourage their governments to agree at this year’s ICAO Assembly on a global carbon offsetting measure to take effect in 2020. However, IATA only endorses such a global scheme ‘as opposed to a patchwork of unilateral national and/or regional policy measures’. Environmental groups working on aviation emissions said though the IATA statement is welcome, rather than their usual position that better air traffic control, better planes and biofuels alone can solve the problem. However, it kicks the ball in the long grass, until after 2020, and sets out a string of unworkable conditions. It rules out the EU ETS as a stepping stone, as well as the raising of revenues, and impacts on traffic volume, which are inherent to any market-based measure. It also relies solely on out-of-sector offsets rather than real emissions reductions within the aviation sector itself. It merely compensates these emissions through investment in reduction projects in other sectors.