General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Recent cases of icefalls – and now a pair of pliers – from planes onto homes. Nobody injured, so far.
There have been a considerable number of cases of items falling from aircraft, onto houses under flight paths. The most recent is a case of a large pair of pliers that appear to have been left in the undercarriage of an easyJet plane (as reported by the Sun newspaper) which fell onto a house in Canvey Island, on its way to land at Southend. Falling from some 7,000 feet the pliers went straight through the tiled roof and the ceiling. Luckily the occupants were not hurt. In March a block of what appears to be frozen aircraft lavatory waste fell onto a static caravan in the Midlands, causing severe damage to the roof of the caravan's bathroom and its floor, as well as ruining the rest of the bathroom. In February a block of ice did serious damage to the conservatory of a house in Clanfield, Hampshire, shattering glass. Again, fortunately, nobody was in the room when the block fell, as they would possibly have been badly injured by flying glass.
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China agrees $4.1bn Airbus plane deal to buy 18 wide-body jets + $3.8 bn deal for 42 narrow-body jets
Fear by European countries, Airbus and many airlines, that loss of sales of Airbus planes to China was a reason for "stopping the clock" for a year, on aviation's inclusion in the ETS. Now a deal has been agreed that China will buy 18 A330s from Airbus. Now inclusion of aviation in the ETS has been emasculated, Airbus is keen to sell as many planes as it can to China and returning to what it calls ‘business as usual’. The order that has now been announced is part of an earlier order for 45 wide-body jets, which are worth about $4n at list prices, although China may get a hefty discount on them. There is also an order by the Chinese for 42 A320 narrow-body jets, worth about $3.8bn though this deal had not been affected by the ETS debacle. Airbus, which is a subsidiary of EADS, hopes China will be its largest customer during coming 2 decades, buying large numbers of planes. France, Germany and Britain continue to do all they can to build strong commercial ties with China, to boost exports and income.
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Aviation report finds: “claims about the economic benefits of connectivity are not founded on solid evidence”
An important new report, by CE Delft, has been published. It was commissioned by WWF, RSPB and HACAN, and its purpose is to assess whether it is true - as the aviation industry continually proclaims - that better "connectivity" will create greater economic growth for the UK. The report found that claims about the economic benefits of connectivity are not founded on solid evidence. The Airports Commission currently has a discussion document on aviation and connectivity, and this report - The Economics of Airport Expansion - is a contribution to this debate. The CE Delft report found there is a correlation between aviation activity and economic growth, However, there does not appear to be any evidence for a causal relationship between connectivity and economic growth. Causation and correlation are not the same thing. They also found that increasing connectivity is more beneficial for developing countries or regions than for developed economies, such as that of the UK. They also found that extra connectivity in cities that are already well-connected, like London, does not necessarily deliver measurable or substantial economic benefits. CE Delft also looked at some of the economic arguments being used by proponents of airport expansion and found them to be miscalculated and exaggerated, distorting the aviation debate.
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Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted face regulatory shake-up by CAA and pricing changes
The CAA has the responsibility of setting the maximum level of airport charges, every 5 years, for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted -the 3 "designated" airports. On 30th April the CAA is expected to announce its initial plans. It will make a final decision in January 2014. The landing charges generally rise a bit faster than the rate of inflation and the RPI (retail price index) and charges are passed on to passengers, increasing air fares. Since the last 5 yearly review, the three airports now each has a different owner, whereas before all three were BAA owned. The CAA is not expected to allow Heathrow to increase its landing charges of 5.9% a year above inflation - which it has requested - and which have enraged the airlines. Gatwick airport has been campaigning to be permitted to strike commercial deals with major customers such as easyJet, which it says would reduce its fares. Gatwick already has different landing charges in summer and winter. The CAA’s announcement is expected to trigger intense lobbying by airports and airlines over the regime for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
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In its submission to the Airports Commission SSE rebuffs claims that the UK faces an airport capacity crisis
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has rebuffed claims that the UK is facing an airport capacity crisis which is damaging the UK economy. Contrary to aviation industry pleading for more runways, SSE says there simply isn't the demand for more business flights or more routes to emerging markets. The SSE comments appear in their submission to the Airports Commission discussion paper on 'Aviation Connectivity and the Economy'. SSE makes it clear that it is the corporate interests of the UK aviation lobby rather than concern for UK Plc that is driving calls for additional runways, highlighting specific examples to back this up. Heathrow, for example, flew more people to Miami last year than to the whole of mainland China, and more people to Nice than to either Beijing or Shanghai. SSE also reminds those caught up in the whirl of aviation industry spin that London continues to be independently ranked as the best city in Europe for doing business and as the city with the best transport links with other cities and internationally. Their submission is well worth reading.
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Heathrow award for top airport for shopping for 3rd year. Net Retail Income per passenger £6.21 in 2012 (£5.64 in 2010)
For the third year, Heathrow got the award (within the airports industry) for the top airport for shopping. Heathrow has over 52,000 square metres of retail space and more than 340 retail and catering outlets. Heathrow overtook Dubai International to win the title of “World’s Best Airport for Shopping” for 2012. Heathrow has the highest retail sales of any airport in the world ahead of Incheon airport in South Korea. Figures from the Moodie Report in February 2013 said that Net Retail Income per passenger at Heathrow was £6.21 (up 4.4% on 2011, partly due to the Olympics) in 2012 and £5.95 in 2011, while it was £5.64 in 2010. (By comparison the Net Retail Income at Stansted in 2012 was £4.27 per passenger). At Heathrow in 2012 the gross retail income increased +5.7% to £460.1 million
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Eurostar passengers up about 2% in 2012 – with around 8% of the trips from UK to Europe
Eurostar had 2% more passengers travelling between the UK and Europe in 2012 than in 2011. It has 9.9 million passengers in 2012, compared with 9.7 million in 2011, and there was 8% growth in travellers from outside EU. Eurostar's sales revenue was 799 million in 2012 (2011: £803 million) with an operating profit of £52.3 million in 2012, up from £25 million in 2011. The combination of the Olympic Games and the Jubilee caused an increase in the number of travellers coming to London, by Eurostar. Eurostar has 28 trains, which can each carry some 750 passengers. There will be some fleet refurbishment, and some new trains by 2015. By contrast, there were about 115.5 million air passengers who travelled between UK airports and EU airports in 2012, and some 114.5 million in 2011. ie. about 8% of passengers travelling between the UK and Europe went by Eurostar in 2012.
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Farnborough Airport: Airport safety zones come under fire
A forum group for Farnborough Airport - the Farnborough Airport Consultative Committee (FACC) - has expressed concerns over how new public safety zones (PSZs) at the airport were decided. New PSZs were proposed by the CAA and are expected to come into force soon. The changes mean the PSZs will decrease in size and include 50 fewer homes. but the FACC has suggested there was a lack of information given about how the new PSZs were calculated. For reasons of commercial confidentiality the changes in modelling assumptions cannot be made public – and are therefore unavailable for expert scrutiny. Critics, including Geoff Marks who has worked on the issue for many years, say the PSZs, are ‘oversimplified’ and suggesting they should be wider. Other criticism included arguments that ‘narrow triangles’ are the wrong shape for PSZs, as an aircraft in distress might not follow this line if coming down to crash.
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Cabinet minister (Defence Secretary) Philip Hammond calls for 2nd Gatwick runway
Philip Hammond (the Defence Secretary) has become the first Cabinet minister to call publicly for expansion at Gatwick - writing in the Surrey Herald. He is opposed to expansion at Heathrow, opposes a Thames Estuary hub, and also opposes the idea of a large hub airport at Stansted, as it would do economic damage to the Heathrow area. Last year he was enthusiastic about the Heathwick idea - a joint hub with Heathrow and Gatwick linked by high speed rail (an idea rejected by both airports). Now he has publicly said he wants a 2nd runway at Gatwick, followed later by a 2nd runway at Stansted. Mr Hammond is MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, an area affected by planes from Heathrow. Mr Hammond's comment has been criticised by Brendon Sewill, chairman of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC), who said: “I doubt if he has walked around the area — if so he would see there is no room for a 2nd runway.” Mr Sewill said expanding Gatwick would be another example of the “short-term solutions” that had blighted British aviation policy for 60 years.
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Dialogue Commission on Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport reports: project delayed but confirmed
The dialogue commission looking into the Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport project at Nantes has produced its report. There were also two reports on the impact on water and wetland and impact on local agriculture. The commission has said that substantial adjustments are needed to the original draft of new airport designed to replace the existing Nantes Atlantique airport. This means there is an indefinite postponement. It had been planned to open in 2017. The dialogue commission has had to decide on the usefulness of the project , and also on changes and improvements needed to the project, to which is strongly opposed locally - and also by many across France. There now needs to be a new assessment of redevelopment costs of the existing Nantes Atlantique airport, and whether it could be adapted to take larger planes. Also the impact of a new airport on other airports nearby. The commission has questionned the way in which wetland would be dealt with, and the impact of loss of farms and farmland. Opponents now believe their concerns and opposition has been vindicated, but they will continue to occupy the land and fight the plans.