General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Catalogue of delays and problems for the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (Willy-Brandt)
Brandenburg (Willy Brandt) airport has become a symbol of how, even for the remarkably technologically successful Germans, things can go horribly wrong. There is currently no opening date set. It has a range of problems, many caused by such complicated and advanced computer systems and technologies, that engineers cannot work out how to fix them. Thousands of light bulbs illuminate the gigantic main terminal and the car park 24 hours per day, which is a massive cost and waste of energy; officials cannot work out how to turn them off as the computer system that's so sophisticated it's almost impossible to operate. Every day, an empty commuter train rolls to the unfinished airport over an 8 km stretch to keep the newly-laid tracks from getting rusty - more waste. Several escalators need to be rebuilt because they were too short; and dozen of tiles were already broken before a single airport passenger ever stepped on them. Then there are the fire system problems - with some technology that is so advanced that technicians can't work out what's wrong with it.
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Virgin starts its domestic services from Heathrow, to Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen
At the end of March, Virgin Atlantic has started its first UK domestic services with 4 flights per day flights between Manchester and Heathrow. The routes in the UK are being known as Little Red. Starting on 8th April there will also be 6 return flights daily from Edinburgh to Heathrow, and 3 from Aberdeen. Branson says Little Red will compete with BA, which also runs several domestic services. However, Virgin has losses that are expected to exceed £125m this year, which is worse than last year's £80m deficit. Its new domestic routes are designed to feed more connecting British passengers into its long-haul network from Heathrow. Seat sales for the first week of Manchester flights were said to be low but in line with expectations. Virgin is now hoping to form a deal with Delta, which will build on codesharing and reciprocal customer loyalty programmes, to try and get more of the profitable passengers between New York and London, that BA currently has. Virgin and Delta need to wait for approval from the European competition authorities and the US department of justice.
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Short haul flights clogging Heathrow runways with some 25% to short haul destinations
A new study HACAN of flights using Heathrow has revealed that out of the top 10 destinations, by number of flights, only one, New York, is long haul. The rest are European or British destinations. Based on number of daily flights, New York, with 61 flights a day, tops the table. It is followed by Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Edinburgh. Overall around 20 - 25% of flights from Heathrow are to short haul destinations. That is around 100,000 flights (out of a total now of nearly 480,000 annual flights). Although the mix is slightly different in 2013 from earlier research in 2006, the proportion is about the same. Of the European flights, some 45% are over distances of less than 500km, which could be made by rail. Many of these journeys have the potential to transfer to high-speed rail. Due to the rise of Eurostar, flights from Heathrow to Paris have fallen from 60 per day in 2006 to 35 now. And Brussels flights have decreased from 30 to 19 in that time. It makes much more sense to use Heathrow for long haul flights, especially to the new "growth" economies.
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AEF comment on Airports Commission climate paper: forecast demand rise remains incompatible with UK climate targets
AEF (the Aviation Environment Federation) has commented on the discussion paper published by the Airports Commission, on aviation and climate change. AEF notes that the paper appears keen for the UK to avoid disadvantaging itself economically through constraints on airport capacity. The paper also acknowledges that there have also been problems with the effectiveness of EU ETS in recent years due to over-supply of credits and that the ETS is currently partly suspended. The paper also appreciates that if UK aviation expands above its 2005 level, this would require "more challenging reductions" in other sectors of the UK economy. AEF comments that even with constraints on aviation growth from capacity constraints, taxes and inclusion in the ETS, "forecast demand growth remains significantly higher than the level compatible with climate targets. In other words, if we want to meet these targets, new measures should be considered for constraining emissions, and unconstrained aviation growth with new runways should be out of the question."
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Airlines that have grown rapidly since 2004/6 need to buy more ETS carbon allowances
Airlines in Europe such as EasyJet and Ryanair, which almost entirely fly within Europe, continue to need to buy carbon permits through the EU Emissions Trading System. The ETS has been temporarily suspended this year ("stopping the clock") for flights to and from Europe. For intra-EU flights, the ETS means airlines need to buy 15% of the carbon permits they need, and the cap for 2012 was for 97% of their average emissions between 2004 - 2006. This falls to 95% for 2013 and future years. Therefore airlines that have grown significantly since 2004 -6 such as Ryanair and EasyJet have to pay more than airlines that have barely grown, or shrunk their emissions since then (the older legacy airlines). It seem Ryanair emitted about 34% more carbon in 2012 and so has a shortfall of 1.9 million tons CO2 which would cost it €8.4 million based on a price of €4.44 a metric ton. Easyjet's emissions were 25% above, so their shortage last year would amount to about 910,000 tons (costing about €4 million).
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Airports Commission publishes discussion document on Aviation and Climate Change
The Airports Commission has published its 3rd discussion paper, on Aviation and Climate Change, through which it will assemble advice and opinion on which to base its airport decisions. The consultation period lasts till 17th May. In a thoughtful document, covering a wide range of issues in relation to aviation and climate change, it sets out the usual range of issues (carbon emissions, role of international negotiations though the EU ETS and ICAO, the role of biofuels in future, role of operational improvements, impact of aviation's non-CO2 impacts) but it also looks at the effect of both carbon constraints on future aviation growth and the effect of UK airport capacity constraints on overall emissions. It looks at the likely consequences of more long haul flights from the UK being taken from European hub airports, and the CO2 and climate effects of this happening more ("carbon leakage"). The Airports Commission has the problem of attempting to decide on CO2 issues at a time when the future of the ETS is uncertain, and effective progress by ICAO is not likely to be swift. Therefore UK policy on aviation carbon emissions is also on hold, with even agreement on non-CO2 impacts undecided.
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Ian Jopson, of NATS, explains their new technology to reduce aircraft emissions at landing and take off
NATS, the body that deals with UK air traffic control, has been attempting to reduce aircraft fuel consumption and carbon emissions by getting planes to take more direct routes, and land and take off at a continuous rate. They have devised a programme they call Flight Profile Monitor, which helps them achieve this. It uses radar data to monitor the 3 dimensional flight profiles of individual aircraft and to then record which of those were achieving smooth, continuous climbs and descents. Ian Jopson from NATS claims that from a 12 month trial last year between NATS, BMi, BMi Regional, Loganair, easyJet, Ryanair and Edinburgh Airport they achieved a saving of "at least 800 tonnes of CO2 and 250 tonnes of fuel" (tiny in comparison with the UK total). This was done by analysing each flight to see where savings could be made. They got a 20% increase in continuous descent landings, to around 55%. They also got around 95% with a continuous climb rate. NATS hopes to get more savings in future.
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World Bank chief says global warming threatens the planet and the poorest
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said climate change was a “fundamental threat” to global economic development as he called for a major new push to reduce extreme poverty over the next 17 years. At the same time, the impact of climate change disproportionately threatens the African and Asian nations that would find it hardest to cope. Finding ways to avoid or lessen potential climate effects, he said, are central to that effort.“If we do not act to curb climate change immediately, we will leave our children and grandchildren an unrecognizable planet,” Kim said. “It is the poor, those least responsible for climate change and least able to afford adaptation, who would suffer the most.” His comments are part of an emerging push by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to focus on climate change — something that IMF managing director Christine Lagarde has said puts global financial stability “clearly at stake.” Nicholas Stern says that both emissions of greenhouse gas and the effects of climate change were taking place faster than he forecast seven years ago
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Why China doesn’t need more airports – interesting insights by a Chinese academic
IIn a fascinating piece for the Guardian a Chinese academic sets out reasons why China does not need to build more airports. The country has a large and rapidly growing high speed rail network, which enables lower carbon travel - and electricity can be generated without imported oil needed for planes. Already some three-quarters of Chinese airports are running at a deficit, and rail is cheaper than air travel. Existing airports already struggle to compete. China already had (2011) 43 airports handling more than 2 million passengers per year, compared to 62 in America (with a poorly developed rail network) against which it compares itself. In the USA many smaller US airports have been running increasing deficits since 2002. Part of the reason for local government pushing for more Chinese airports is that local officials like to maintain their political profile through investing in building projects like airports to stimulate short-term local economic growth - so they can claim credit but not be accountable for paying back the debt afterwards when the airport is not profitable.
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Britain’s cheap travel boom left it with too many non-viable regional airports, says Birmingham’s Kehoe
Paul Kehoe, keen to boost the fortunes of Birmingham airport, has said that Britain has twice as many airports as it needs. He said that airports such as Norwich, Blackpool, Doncaster and Durham Tees Valley will struggle to justify their existence. There are too many small airports competing for the same passengers, and since the travel boom caused by artificially cheap air travel - which pays no fuel duty and no VAT - the demand is no longer great enough to justify so many airports. Airports always claim that they boost the local economy, though that can be disputed. They certainly suck Brits out of the country on cheap foreign trips, to spend their money abroad. Paul Kehoe said there are 20 airports between Leeds and Southampton providing commercial flights, and passenger numbers are still far below their 2007 peak. Talking about the purchase by the Welsh government, at a high price, of Cardiff airport, Paul Kehoe said we "have a choice about whether we should go on holiday. Why should the taxpayer subsidise it?” Too true.