General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
UK carbon emissions up 3.1% in 2010 compared to 2009. Aviation 6.4% of UK total (6.9% in 2009). 6.4% in 2005
DECC figures for UK carbon emissions for 2009 and 2010 show they increased in 2010, largely due to increased in household energy use and more use of gas and coal to produce electricity. UK international aviation emissions (excluding domestic flights) were responsible for 31.8 Mt CO2e in 2010, out of the UK total of 495.8 MtCO2e in 2010. This is 6.4%. In 2009 it was 6.96% because in 2009 aviation emissions were higher than in 2010 due to the recession, and total UK carbon emissions were a bit lower than in 2010. Aviation was 6.4% of UK emissions in 2005, so the proportion has remained approximately the same.
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Civil Aviation Bill passed 2nd reading and now at Committee stage
On 30th January the Civil Aviation Bill had its 2nd reading in Parliament. It will be in its Committee Stage until 15th March, and written submissions can be made until then. The Bill's purpose it to legislate on regulation of operators of dominant airports and determine the powers and functions of the CAA. This includes its remit on aviation security, airport charges, services provided at airports and the service given to air passengers. However, it contains very little on environmental matters, including noise. It is important that there should be an environmental duty in the context of economic regulation, so the CAA is not just focused on the rights of passengers, but also has environmental responsibilities. There also needs to be a more general community duty for the CAA. looking at the welfare of people being overflown or affected by airports, not only the passengers.
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Hard times for airlines. Malev collapses. American Airlines lays of 13,000 staff and Air India cannot pay for fuel
Hungarian airline, Malev, has folded, after 66 years. The EC had asked it to repay the €130 m it had received in state aid from 2007 to 2010. This comes soon after the collapse of Spanair. Malev is part of the Oneworld airline alliance, which also includes American Airlines and BA. Also American Airlines has announced it will cut 13,000 jobs, maintenance staff, flight attendants, pilots and management - about 15% of its staff. It wants to cut staff costs by 20% in a bid to reduce spending by $2bn per year. And Air India has got behind in its payments for jet fuel to three state-owned oil and its fuel supplies were cut. The fuel suppliers say Air India has not paid them for fuel even after the expiry of a 90-day grace period.
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Number of premium passengers falling on European – and global – airlines
IATA said in December that the share of premium seats as a portion of total travel is contracting, with premium seat share falling back towards the lows of early 2009 when it touched 7.5% of total traffic. Also that there has been a degree of substitution away from premium travel to economy, as businesses seek to cut cost in difficult economic conditions. IATA said that Europe’s airlines had the lowest average profitability of all the world’s regions. So they want higher numbers of business passengers, which inreases profit. In January IATA said demand for premium travel had been weaker in the 2nd half of 2011, and on in some areas a contraction or slowdown in economic activity has reduced business travel. Also business travellers have switched from premium to economy, especially on flights within Europe.
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EU funds spent on ‘environmentally harmful’ projects including 2 Polish airports
Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe have produced a study that shows the EU is funding a range of projects in central and eastern Europe, such as roads, incinerators, biomass power stations, railways and airports, which are environmentally harmful. They list 33 projects, including two airports (Białystok and Modlin) which are both in Poland. The study says while EU leaders are in the "hot phase" of negotiating the next EU budget for 2014-2020, current spending practices need to be altered if Europe is serious about its climate change and environmental targets. They say "What we have found is that they are funding unsustainable, unmodern investments. Decision makers have not learnt from the past experience." Both the airports are shown to have problems for birds, including serious risk of birdstrike.
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Caroline Spelman refuses to deny plans to slash environmental regulations
The environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, has refused to deny that the Cabinet Office is proposing to rip up of thousands of pages of environmental regulations and guidance as part of the government's "red tape challenge". This proposal is causing deep concern among green MPs and campaigners. It follows the cutting of planning regulation guidance from 1,000 pages to just 50 pages. The red tape challenge on environmental regulations included all existing rules including those protecting against air and water pollution, industrial discharges and noise. According to a Guardian analysis, 97% of the responses on the red tape challenge expressing an opinion in the "air pollution" and "biodiversity, wildlife management, landscape, countryside and recreation" categories demanded no changes or stronger protection for the environment.
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US Congress ups the ante on EU aircraft emissions law
US Congress will soon pass a bill opposing the EU ETS. Compromise language expressing opposition to the law is less strident than a Congressional bill passed in October that sought to exempt US carriers entirely from the EU measure that took effect on 1 January. The American airlines complain that the EU law amounts to a new tax. However, research by a US FAA-funded group of academics found that US airlines could net a windfall of €2 billion from the ETS, because of the amount of free allowances involved, and the airlines ability to pass costs on to the consumer. The EU has said that any congressional action over the law could harden diplomacy on both sides of the Atlantic and potentially spark a trade conflict.
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London First report wants 3rd Heathrow runway, and mixed mode on both its runways, as well as a new south east hub airport
London First, which calls themselves "an influential business membership organisation with the mission to make London the best city in the world in which to do business" have today produced a report called "London, Britain and the world: Transport links for economic growth". The report says that an expanded at Heathrow as the "only credible option" for the capital. It accuses the government of being unwilling to consider "politically difficult solutions". London First believes the connectivity of London is key in its success, and that "congested roads, overcrowded trains and aircraft circling above the South East waiting for permission to land at Britain’s only hub airport, Heathrow, are all signs of our critical strategic transport infrastructure operating at its limits and lacking resilience when put under pressure." They are calling for significant improvement in London’s connectivity, both with the rest of the UK and with emerging international markets. They want easier planning and suggest varioius recommendations "to deliver short, medium and long-term improvements to London’s road, rail and air links." They are asking for an expanded Heathrow, flights landing and taking off on both Heathrow runways (mixed mode) and a new south east airport ........
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New report claims poor environment, not lack of airport capacity, threatens London’s status as top city to do business
A new report produced by HACAN shows that though the excellent transport links to the rest of the world make it Europe's premier business city, London fares less well on other issues which influence businesses in deciding where to locate. The annual survey by Cushman & Wakefield in 2011 “London is still ranked – by some distance from its closest competitors – as the leading city in which to do business.” However London performed badly in all the surveys on the quality of life it offered, scoring particularly poorly on air pollution and traffic congestion. HACAN says the message is clear. London has got to clean up its act if its wants remain the top city for business. London First's Connectivity Commission is due tomorrow to release its report "the policy and investment required to secure London's road, rail and air links, for the capital to remain globally competitive and support the UK’s long-term growth."
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Spanair Collapse Puts Europe’s ‘Zombie’ Airlines on Alert
The first collapse of a scheduled European airline since the last recession comes as cash-strapped governments mull disposing of at least half a dozen other carriers. This pits various emerging-market bidders against Air France- KLM Group, Lufthansa and British Airways parent IAG. Governments are becoming reluctant to save ailing airlines as the debt crisis forces austerity programs in other parts of the economy. State investors in Stockholm-based SAS AB, Aer Lingus Group Plc of Ireland, Portugal’s TAP and the flag carriers of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have all signaled plans to reduce direct support and seek new investors. They can no longer financially support these airlines. There is a lot of detail about which governments own shares in their airlines, and which airlines may buy others in the near future.