General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Airbus and AirAsia announce record deal for 200 planes
Date added: 23 June, 2011
Airbus piled up the orders at the Paris air show as it announced the largest
single order of commercial aircraft in history. Malaysia's low-cost carrier AirAsia is buying 200 of the A320neo jets, in a deal
worth about $18bn (£11bn). That eclipsed a deal on Wednesday, when India's IndiGo confirmed an order for
180 planes from Airbus. The new versions of the A320 are in demand as their new engines make them more
fuel-efficient and cheaper to run. (BBC)
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Evening Standard comment: “Ministers must heed this airports warning”
Date added: 22 June, 2011
The Standard says that after yesterday's comments by Willie Walsh that BA is
no longer hoping for a new third Heathrow runway, "We need to consider all the
options. What we cannot do is simply ignore the issue. As an international trading
centre, London is reliant on its air links - and through them, large parts of
the rest of the UK economy too." And "Ministers could also revisit plans to expand Stansted or, eventually, Gatwick. There may be potential elsewhere, too".
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Claims at Paris Air Show of hypersonic plane flying 20 miles up, on biofuel, by 2050
Date added: 21 June, 2011
The Zehst plane, not scheduled for commercial use until 2050, will be run on a seaweed-based
fuel rather than kerosene. This is all likely to be pie in the sky. EADS, the team behind the new plane - which claims it could fly up to 100 passengers
at more than 4 times the speed of sound - has decided to use a mixture of biofuel,
hydrogen and water. It would reach Australia from England in about three hours, flying just outside earth's
atmosphere 20 miles up.
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Not again! World’s biggest airliner loses wingtip after striking building at Paris Air Show – two months after doing the same thing in New York
Date added: 21 June, 2011
An A380 superjumbo was grounded at JFK airport two months ago after hitting a
private jet, which was spun round 90 degrees by the impact of the A380's wing
tip with its tail. Now the plane is grounded again at the Paris Air Show, after
damaging its wing tip on a building it was taxiing past, so it is grounded. The
Airbus A400M military transport plane also had to cancel a demonstration flight
because of a "minor gearbox problem".
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Operators of Scotland’s largest airports want aviation taxes to be devolved to Holyrood
Date added: 17 June, 2011
The owners of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick airports said control
from Scotland would allow the government to cut tax and help the tourism industry. APD is currently set by Westminster. The Calman Commission, which considered reforms of home rule for Scotland, recommended
that APD should be devolved. They believe the Scottish government is best placed
to determine the balance between APD and the economic benefits of aviation growth
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Group of 10 regional airports want a congestion tax on flights from Heathrow and Gatwick
Date added: 17 June, 2011
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UK airport passenger figures for April and May
Date added: 15 June, 2011
April and May figures
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Business leaders warn of cost rise for air passengers so fewer will head off on cheap flights abroad
Date added: 15 June, 2011
THE cost of flying short haul from the north east could soar if Government proposals
are implemented, business claims. Newcastle Airport said coalition plans to switch from a 4-tier banding of aviation
tax to 2 or 3-tier would have no benefit for North East passengers. This is in
response to the APD consultation ends on Friday. Newcastle Airport is reliant
on the budget airline holiday flights for its financial security - though this
takes money out of the UK economy.
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May 2011 traffic figures – BAA’s airports – passengers up by 9.2% on May 2010
Date added: 14 June, 2011
BAA’s 6 airports handled 9.3 million passengers in May, the busiest ever May
for Heathrow (5.9 million) and Edinburgh (826,000). The two airports also saw
their busiest ever March, April and May. This was partly due to the royal wedding,
and volcanic problems and strikes in May 2010. For the first time ever, the 12 month total number of passengers at Heathrow
topped 68 million. Stripping out the negative effects of events in 2010, the group
recorded underlying growth of 1.7% in the year to date
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Abolition of Irish passenger tax “conditional” upon airlines bringing in more passengers
Date added: 14 June, 2011
Campaigning by airlines and the tourist industry prompted the Irish government's
decision to drop its air passenger tax. The current €3 tax will be dropped between July and October this year. “We decided that it wasn’t a good idea to tax people to come in and out of an
island,” said Irish Tourism Minister. However, the move is conditional on airlines bringing in more passengers, with
a quid pro quo, and airlines increasing routes cut in the recession.
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