General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Tourism gold? Olympics set to lose Britain billions
The organising committee for the London 2012 Games, Locog, says it had over-estimated by a quarter the number of rooms needed by officials, media and sponsors. It has now handed back 120,000 of the total 600,000 nights it had booked. The large-scale reservation of rooms in early preparation for the Games has caused increased prices across the capital and has put many regular tourists off visiting this summer. Hotel prices have broadly tripled in London during the Olympics. There are estimates that up to a million rooms may not be occupied over the Olympics, and ordinary tourists will stay away. The likelihood is that London's hotels will be less than 80% full. One trade association estimated income could slump by up to £3.5bn during July and August. The slump will spread beyond the capital. Meanwhile Heathrow hopes to have huge numbers of passengers, visiting the games, though numbers may be over-estimated.
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Spanair halts flights after Government lifeline runs out and Qatar Airways pulls out
Spanair was hoping that Qatar Airways would buy it, but take over talks ended and the Spanish regional government refused to provide more funding. The airline may now file for bankruptcy and stopped all its operations, with around 20,000 passengers left stranded. The airline is based in Catalonia, one of the most indebted regions in Spain, and Spain’s regions are slashing spending to cut debt as the country grapples with the euro area’s 3rd-largest budget deficit. Spanair, founded in 1986, operated from 15 Spanish airports and had routes to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
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Aviation Partners, in the USA, estimate that blended winglets save 6-7% of emissions
The blended wingtips can be installed during production or retrofitted to existing aircraft, and are certified on a range of Gulfstream, Hawker and Falcon aircraft types. Through its joint venture with Boeing, they can also be retrofitted to 737-300 to -900, 757-200 and -300, and 767-300ER/F series aircraft.
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Proportion of business passengers fell between 2000 and 2010 at 5 main UK airports
UK government figures show that the proportion of business passengers, international and domestic, have fallen at the 5 largest UK airports over the past 10 years. In 2000 around 38% of Heathrow passengers were on business, around 35% in 2005, but in 2010 it was 30.2%. At Gatwick 17.4% of passengers were on business in 2000, but only 14.6% in 2010. At Stansted it was 18.4% down to 16.4%. At Manchester 19.4% down to 17.9%. At Luton, 24.5% of passengers were on business in 2000, but 19.1% in 2010. Data from the CAA annual passenger surveys each year give the details. While the proportion of business passengers fell, those visiting friends and family, or on holiday, increased.
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Environmental protection rules may be headed for government shredder
On 12 January, cabinet office minister Oliver Letwin met senior officials from Defra, the Environment Agency and Natural England and made a startling proposition - that he wanted all environmental guidance replaced with a single 50-page document, just as the government aims to do with the 1,000 pages of planning guidance. Details of the meeting are difficult to obtain. However, this is part of the government's Red Tape Challenge, to simplify regulations in order to help business. Damian Carrington writes: "Businesses should be encouraged to thrive by developing sustainable goods and services fit for the 21st century, not by cutting costs through a return to pumping their waste into rivers and the air." Earlier the RSPB said "we will fight tooth and nail any unnecessary destruction of our environment for a short termist approach to economic recovery."
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YouGov poll shows 47% of Britons oppose a Thames Estuary airport – few support it
A YouGov poll, conducted on 19th and 20th January, asked 1711 British adults a range of questions, including their views on a Thames estuary airport. 47% were opposed to such an airport. 23% were in favour, of which only 6% were strongly in favour. 49% thought that the UK would not lose its status as an international hub if capacity is not increased (27% believed it might be). 25% thought there was no need for more airport capacity in the south east, and 29th felt there should be expansion at other airports. 39% believed the environmental damage that would be caused by building a new airport at the Thames Estuary outweighs the economic benefits. Only 21% thought its economic benefits would be greater than its environmental cost. Many more women are concerned about the environmental impact than men, who think more along economic lines.
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Nations opposed to EU emission tax to meet next few weeks
There will be a meeting in early February of nations opposed to the EU ETS, in Delhi or Moscow. India seems to be talking up the potential of a trade war, with European airlines being restricted on flights in Asia and the east. IATA opposes the ETS and the motivations of those opposing appear to be financial, as it raises costs (of course - that it what it is intended to do, to pay for carbon) but veiled in thin arguments about there being better ways to cut aviation carbon. Which are not being actively sought by any nation, other than the EU.
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Thomas Cook’s summer bookings down in UK
The FT says Thomas Cook's sales fell 33% in the first 2 weeks of January compared to the same period a year earlier. This is partly as they have cut the number of holidays offered for sale. The FT says the fall at Thomas Cook is greater than that at their rival, TUI. Thomas Cook say its bookings in December were good. It plans to cut the holidays for summer 2012 on sale in Britain by 8% given weak consumer sentiment. The company has been hit by tough trading, especially in Britain, where its core customer base of families with young children is struggling in tough economic conditions. The group has 1,300 outlets, and plans to close 200 of its branches over the next two years. The airline carries around 8 million passenger per year, declining.
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Civil Aviation Bill – on powers for the CAA – introduced into Parliament
TThe Government's Civil Aviation Bill, the purpose of which is to update the economic regulation duties and powers of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has begun its passage through Parliament. These new powers will put passengers at the heart of how the UK's major airports are run. The Civil Aviation Bill (which was earlier referred to as the Airport Economic Regulation Bill) will replace the current economic regulation duties of the CAA with a single primary duty to promote the interests of passengers. The Bill is designed to modernise the key elements of how the industry is regulated and contribute to economic growth.
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Some Olympics flights to land at Kent airports – a proportion at night
Kent airports - Manston, Lydd and Rochester - are getting excited about their chance, through the arrangements for flights over the period of the Olympics made by Airport Coordination Ltd (ACL) for many hundreds of extra flights. Manston has apparently been told it can have up to 192 arrivals and departures every day with a maximum of 44 between 10pm and 7am. Lydd hopes to have up to 126 planes per day, 20 of which will leave or arrive at night. Rochester's might have 56 aircraft a day, although no flights will operate between midnight and 6am. It is likely that many of these are private jets, as Heathrow expects to deal with most scheduled flights, even opening a new, temporary terminal.