General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Budget coming up this week – so it’s time for the habitual bash at APD by the airlines…
With the budget coming up on the 20th March, the airlines do their usual predictable attack on Air Passenger Duty, in the vain hope that the Chancellor will be persuaded to let flying be a bit cheaper, and agree to the Treasury forgoing an important source of revenue for the UK economy. The last attempt the airlines had was a report that they had written by PWC, with a range of claims about APD. The FT reported in February that a Treasury spokesperson said APD, which is forecast to bring in £2.9bn this year, makes an “essential contribution” towards helping meet the government’s deficit reduction plans. “We do not recognise the figures in this [PWC] report or agree with the assumptions behind it” Air Passenger Duty is charged because there is no VAT on aviation, and the industry is zero-rated. There is also no fuel tax on jet fuel. So APD is charged, because of these tax breaks the industry receives. The aviation PR spin is that aviation is vital to the UK economy. In reality, around 80% of trips made by air from the UK are for leisure purposes, the majority taking Brits to spend their money on trips abroad. Cutting APD would only be beneficial to the aviation industry. It would not benefit the UK as a whole.
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Boeing unveils B787 Dreamliner battery enhancements to try and get it back into service
Boeing has unveiled a series of enhancements to the lithium-ion batteries used onboard its B787 aircraft, as it tries to return the Dreamliner to service. All 50 Dreamliners currently in operation were grounded in January, following concerns surrounding the safety of onboard batteries. The US FAA has approved a plan to redesign the 787 lithium-ion batteries but have given no indication of when the planes might be allowed to carry passengers again. Boeing has now set out a “a comprehensive set of improvements that will add several layers of additional safety features to the lithium-ion batteries”, and said that these enhancements are in production and “could be ready for initial installation within the next few weeks”. The question is, bearing in mind that these improvements are only made because of the acknowledged higher risk of fire from these batteries, whether customers are going to want to fly in these planes, knowing there are batteries with a un-proven track record on fire situated below the passenger cabin.
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Mayor of London reveals set of criteria that his panel will use to assess airport options
In early February Boris appointed what he modestly described as his "mighty team of experts" to look at possible options to build a huge hub airport for the south east of England. There was a GLA consultation on the criteria between 21 Dec 2012 and 8 Feb 2013. Boris has now announced the criteria he is setting out for a new airport - the Airports Commission under Sir Howard Davies are also consulting on their "sifting criteria" for the same thing (their consultation closes on 15th March). The GLA (Greater London Authority) says the Mayor’s recently appointed team "will work with TfL to carry out detailed feasibility studies on that shortlist, to inform the Mayor’s submission to the Davies Commission later this year." Concerns have been raised that the panel is very much biased towards those pro-expansion or aviation industry and lacks environmental or community members.
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Revised Public Safety Zone at Leeds Bradford airport – public consultation
In the UK there are 31 airports with Public Safety Zones. These are triagular shaped areas at the ends of runways, which show the areas where the risk of an aircraft crash is significant, and the risk contours. The area of a PSZ corresponds to the 1 in 100,000 individual risk contour, with additional lower risk contours. The CAA is now in charge of these PSZs, and reviews them every 7 years to take into account anticipated changes in air traffic over the next 15 years. The PSZ gets larger if there are more planes flown. There is a general presumption against new development within PSZs due to the safety risk, though existing activities are allowed to continue within a PSZ. The PSZ for Leeds Bradford is now being reviewed and was out for public consultation until 4th April 2013. In the new revised PSZ 60 properties have been included in the new proposed PSZ area and a further 32 houses have been removed. The PSZ areas each end of the runway now cover a slightly larger area. Some residents have been shocked to find they are in the PSZ without being aware of it.
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Airports Commission publish their second discussion paper on “Aviation connectivity and the economy”
The Airports Commission (= Davies Commission) has published ‘Aviation connectivity and the economy’, the second in a series of discussion papers through which it hopes to invite submissions and build the evidence base from which to assess the UK’s airport capacity needs. The paper looks at how the aviation connectivity of the UK contributes to the UK economy. It examines the drivers of connectivity and how well connected the UK is to the world and how it performs in comparison to other European countries (or if the UK is falling behind its neighbours). It considers whether aviation connectivity supports economic growth by facilitating trade, investment and innovation and it looks at options for measuring connectivity. The deadline for consultation is the 19th April.
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British Airways announces first A380 routes to Los Angeles (October) and Hong Kong (November)
BA's first A380 is to be delivered in July 2013, with the 2nd in September and the 3rd in November. BA will start using its first A380 for flights to Los Angeles, starting in October and then on its Hong Kong route from November. BA has ordered 12 A380s, and has options on 7 more, meaning it can buy them at an agreed price in future. The A380 is meant to be a very fuel efficient plane per passenger kilometre, and it would be if it had more than 800 passengers, which it could carry if there was all one class. However, airlines like to have as many First class, and business class (or equivalent) seats as possible, so none has more than 550 or so passengers. BA's A380s will only have 469 seats. Of these, 14 are First class, 97 are business class, and only 303 are Economy class, which take up the least space each. While Airbus makes extravagant claims about how fuel efficient the plane is, these never given details of how they are calculated - the number of passengers on the plane, and the length of flight are important, but not stated. It is not likely that with a load factor of some 80% and 469 seats, that the BA A380s will be particularly fuel efficient, per passenger kilometre.
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Rolls-Royce paid no UK corporation tax in 2012
International engine builder Rolls-Royce did not pay any corporation tax in the UK in 2012. It reported a record year for profits ( £1.4bn in pre-tax profit in 2012, an increase of 24% on 2011) but paid nothing to the Treasury and received £3m in credit. It paid no UK corporation tax in 2011 either. Rolls Royce said most of its sales were abroad and its tax liability was reduced because of its investment in research and development. However, MPs said companies had an obligation to pay tax if they were making a profit. Their accounts show Rolls-Royce paid £218m in taxes abroad where it said it conducts 85% of its business. Director of campaign group Tax Research UK said: "Legality is not the question. The big question is, is it right, is it fair and have we got the proper tax system?" Chris Williamson, Derby North MP said successful companies in the UK are successful partly because of the investment that's made in public services, in education, in infrastructure to enable them to flourish. And they should pay tax. So much for government boasts about how profitable the aerospace industry - combined with civil aviaiton - is for the UK.
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Sleep deprivation causes adverse effects on health due to disruption of gene activity
Sleep scientists at the University of Surrey have found that sleep deprivation affects hundreds of genes involved with inflammation, immunity and cells' response to stress. This might help explain why some people who do not get enough sleep have an increased risk for obesity, heart disease and cognitive impairment. Researchers took whole-blood RNA samples from 26 participants after they had spent a week sleeping 8.5 hours a night, and the same participants after a week of sleeping for just 5.7 hours. That amount of sleep is not unusual for many people, and an estimate from the USA is that perhaps 30% of American adults sleep for under 6 hours. (The study did not look at sleep disturbance, as is the case for aircraft noise). The study found genes related to circadian rhythms, metabolism, inflammation, immune response and stress were all affected by the experiment. Some were more active, and some less, during sleep deprivation. Other studies have found lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity and type II diabetes. It can affect blood sugar levels, and hormones that control appetite. There are also effects on hypertension, elevated risk of stroke and of heart disease.
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Observer article on how Middle Eastern airlines and airports compete with Europe
In an interesting article in the Observer, Gwyn Topham explores the current competition between Middle Eastern airlines (Emirates, Etihad) from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, (with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha airports), and Heathrow and European hub airports. They sit at the crossroads from Europe to the east and between Africa and Asia, which are young and vibrant markets, and have lots of money and no capacity constraints. Intriguingly, Heathrow boss Colin Matthews – who now counts Qatar's sovereign wealth fund as a major shareholder with a 20% stake and has Al-Baker on his board – has started to make a virtue of the growth of the Gulf hubs, as well as Istanbul. He twice suggested that projections of growing passenger demand in the UK might have to be downplayed. Can the vast oil wells in the desert successfully nurture not just one but three burgeoning aviation hubs, two within an hour's drive of each other? With growing demand from India and China, perhaps they can.
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Virgin to launch domestic UK sub-brand called “Little Red” at end of March to compete with BA
Virgin Atlantic has unveiled details of its UK domestic service, which is being called, Little Red. It will launch on 31st March in Manchester, 5th April in Edinburgh and 9th April in Aberdeen, with a total of 26 daily services to Heathrow. Little Red will be Virgin’s first ever domestic flights in the UK. Virgin won key Heathrow take-off and landing slots after Bmi was taken over by IAG last year. Virgin hopes these domestic flights will feed traffic onto its international service. Virgin says Little Red will compete with BA on domestic air routes. BA operates around 52 daily flights between Heathrow and Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. BA also runs services to Scotland from Gatwick and London City airports.Apparently Virgin has partnered with a number of brands "to offer exclusive products on board including Irn Bru on Scottish flights, plane shaped Tyrells crisps and Bacardi Martini miniatures. It will later offer Krispy Kreme doughnuts, yoghurts from The Collective Dairy and Rude Health granola" ! Why ?!