General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Two aviation lobby groups “The Aviation Foundation” and “A Fair Tax on Flying” getting themselves publicity…
The airline lobby group, called the Aviation Foundation (whose members are Virgin Atlantic, BAA, British Airways' parent company IAG, business groups and the TUC), is setting out a series of "tests" by which they believe the Government's forthcoming aviation policy statement should be measured. They want a third runway at Heathrow, and presumably the"tests" will be attempting to show that this is economically beneficial. What these "tests" are has not yet been revealed. Meanwhile the other airline lobby group, "A Fair Tax on Flying" are banging on again about APD, and making out that this tax is harming the UK economy, as it makes long haul holidays for those affluent enough to take them, more expensive.
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WWF scheme helps leading UK companies cut flights by 41% in 2 years
New figures from WWF UK show that some of the UK’s leading companies, including Lloyds TSB, BSkyB, and Marks & Spencer have reduced their business flights by 41%, as part of WWF's One in Five Challenge scheme. The scheme aims to help companies and government departments to cut 20% of flights within 5 years, reduce their reliance on business flying and transform the way they meet and travel. Member companies have used a variety of measures such as questioning the need for travel, including flights in corporate carbon reporting and increasing their use of rail travel as well as video and audio conferencing. Members say less time is being spent out of the office, and there have been benefits of productivity gains and increased collaboration.
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Air France to axe 5,000 jobs by 2014
Air France says it is to cut 5,122 jobs or around 10% of its workforce in voluntary departures by 2014. The job loses would be voluntary provided a new framework agreement can be signed with unions. If new framework agreements are signed by staff then "Air France has pledged not to make redundancies". Air France-KLM has been struggling, and has launched a major cost-saving programme after posting a loss of €809 million for 2011 and a first quarter net loss in 2012 of €368 million. Air France needs to increase economic efficiency by 20% by the end of 2014.
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Government orders research into regional rate for air passenger duty
Chloe Smith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has said - at a meeting with the Sedgefield MP and Newcastle airport and Durham Tees Valley airport - that the Government has commissioned research into varying APD on a regional basis. The research, planned to be published this summer, will consider the potential impact of a regional APD rate as well as devolving the power to set the tax north of the border to the Scottish Government. There has been a campaign in the region, by the Journal newspaper, to get APD changed, claiming it has adverse economic consequences. Newcastle Airport wants APD to be charged at a higher rate at the biggest, most congested airports (south east), and a lower rate from uncongested regional airports.
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BA tells Britons not to fly during Olympics in new ad campaign
British Airways is launching a marketing campaign urging Britons to stay at home during the Olympics, saying on their Facebook page: "Don't Fly. Support Team GB" with an advert during the Euro 2012 match between UK and Ukraine that is expected to be watched by millions. Presumably their aim is to get people to go to the Olympics. What they should be saying, but probably aren't, is that Britons could be supporting UK Plc, by holidaying at home, rather than taking their money abroad - which BA and the other airlines so effectively facilitate. But it is unlikely that BA are being that honest .... They are only asking Brits to delay their travel, not forego it.
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Older travellers account for over half of holiday spend
Older travellers account for over half of all holiday spending, with the trend only set to increase, according to a report by escorted tours operator Travelsphere. It found those aged 45-54 take more holidays abroad than any other age group, while 55-64 year-olds were the only age group to increase long-haul travel between 2008 and 2010, when the market shrank 9%. 40% of all long-haul trips in 2010 were taken by 45-64 year-olds. 28% of those over 65 took at least 2 foreign holidays a year compared to just 19% of all British holidaymakers. "Two thirds of over 55s see holidays as necessary spend, compared to only half of 45-54 year olds and 45% of under 45s." The UK's older population is 17% of our population today, but is expected to rise to 23% by 2035. Will they still have generous pensions then?
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Vince Cable backs Birmingham, while Boris pushes for Stansted expansion (and the estuary)
The campaign to expand Birmingham Airport has gained a new ally – Business Secretary, Vince Cable. The airport recently launched a new London publicity campaign to persuade the Government to throw its support behind Birmingham at the expense of a third runway at Heathrow. Vince Cable said there was no resistance from residents to this expansion to Birmingham building up to being a "really serious international airport", and this would be a "short-term, pragmatic solution that would bring an awful lot more flights to the country” while extra runway capacity at an airport in the South East could take years to deliver. So Boris has been suggesting a 2nd Stansted runway (opposed even by the aviation industry) and Vince is backing Birmingham, as interim "solutions" to an alleged problem of capacity.
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Aviation industry “Fair Tax on Flying” promoting their campaign to cut APD, yet again…
A Fair Tax on Flying, an alliance of more than 30 airlines and tour operators, has launched (yet again) a new website which it hopes will encourage at least 100,000 Britons to register their opposition to Air Passenger Duty (APD). The campaign wants people to send a standard letter to their MP (no possibility to adapt or alter the letter, or for the person to add their own words) to complain about having to pay APD. The campaign complains (yawn, we have seen this several times before) that other European countries pay less tax on air travel. The campaign does not give the slightest hint that the reason why the UK government charges APD is because air travel pays no VAT and no fuel tax. This is all very self serving, and predictably self interested, PR by the travel industry. Somewhat irresponsible too.
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Evening Standard says Boris Johnson wants a 2nd runway at Stansted (and to be PM so he can build the estuary airport)
Boris says a 2nd Stansted runway, and high speed rail to the airport,as an "interim solution" would be, in his words, a “fantastic step in the right direction” to solving the South-East’s (alleged) air capacity crisis before building a new hub in the Thames Estuary. Boris is complaining that David Cameron, in response to the barrage of lobbying for a new runway at Heathrow, has not ruled it out after the next election in 2015 - and Boris says this is detracting from his plans for the mega airport in the Thames estuary. BAA said building runway 2 at Stansted "will not solve the UK’s hub airport capacity crisis" and would just "increase the amount of spare capacity there.” Boris's comments will be seen as an acceptance that the Government will not immediately opt for his estuary airport plan. Oh, and he wants to be Prime Minister too - so he can get the estuary airport plan through....
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Airline industry faces grim year as Gulf carriers take over the world
Aviation is an industry that has already made a multibillion-dollar global loss in 7 of the last 12 years, and it is not optimistic about its profit this year when losses are predicted to top $1bn. Perhaps only the cash-rich Gulf carriers can be optimistic at present. Quantas is doing badly. The rapid ascent of Middle East airlines and their hub airports, pioneered by Emirates in Dubai, has now been joined by Etihad from Abu Dhabi. Rising oil prices mean fuel now represents on average of about 33% of airline operating costs, from about 13% a decade ago. Globally, Iata forecasts $3bn profits this year for the entire industry, on revenues of more than $600bn. Most in the industry agree that consolidation will continue and accelerate, often when an airline goes bankrupt. It is an industry that has tended to grow too quickly in good times. An industry of fewer global players looks inevitable,