General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Boeing joins NASA list of contractors for project to identify airliner of the future with half the emissions of today’s aircraft !!
Bit of crazy wish fulfillment and a real dose of pie-in-the-sky. Take with huge pinch of salt. NASA expects US aviation to expand by a factor or 2 - 3 over the next 20 years, so it is sponsoring research studies to develop technology that would enable future aircraft to burn 50% less fuel than today’s most efficient models, with 50% fewer harmful emissions, and to shrink the size of geographic areas affected by objectionable airport noise by 83%...etc etc etc
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Airlines eye options as oil approaches $100 a barrel – and over $104 for jet fuel
Steadily rising oil prices could stall the airline recovery. on 22nd crude exceeded $90 per barrel for the first time since October 2008 with cold snaps gripping parts of Asia, Europe and the US Northeast. U.S. carriers are on pace to consume 410 million barrels of jet fuel this year with unit prices $20 higher, industry figures show. That means an $8 billion jump in expenses. There are likely to be higher fares, new bag charges and other fees. (Reuters)
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The train in Spain goes faster than the plane
A new AVE high speed link has been opened between Madrid and Valencia taking 95 minutes. The new line, expected to be the most profitable of the network, makes Spain the European country with most kilometres of high speed track in Service. A new high speed train service has come into operation between Barcelona and Paris, with journey time of 7 hours 25 mins. The train will run twice daily in each direction, and stop in Girona, Perpignan, Narbona-Montpellier and Nimes.
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Clean Air in London welcomes first offical estimate that 29,000 premature deaths in the UK in 2008 were attributable to long-term exposure to PM2.5
The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) has published a report with new calculations of the effects of air pollution on health in the UK. COMEAP speculates that air pollution, acting together with other factors, may have made some smaller contribution to the earlier deaths of up to 200,000 people. Aircraft emissions contribute to PM2.5 levels, and the Heathrow area has particularly high levels.
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Government announcement of proposed high speed rail strategy for consultation
London-to-Birmingham high speed train route announced. Consultation started on the plans, which include changes from the initial route and some attempts to mitigate impacts.
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London-to-Birmingham high speed train route announced
The planned route of the high-speed rail line from London to B'ham has been altered after protests about its impact on homes and the countryside. Philip Hammond confirmed the government broadly agreed with the chosen HS2 rail route, but 50% of the preferred route had been amended. There will be a consultation from Feb 2011. The route could cut journey time from London to B'ham by 30 minutes. Deeply controversial, widely unpopular, minimal carbon benefits.
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Durham Tees Valley: Middlesbrough airline fraudster’s web of lies
Durham Tees Valey lost its lint to London when BMI pulled its daily service. Nigerian businessman Victor Bassey revealed a plan in summer 2009 to restore flights from Durham Tees Valley Airport to London City Airport. It would be a luxury service aimed at business travellers. It all sounded plausible, until last year evidence accumulated that it was pure fraud, and Mr Bassey pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud. He had also been in prison before. (BBC)
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Snow problems for the airports, closures, cancellations, unhappy passengers and complaints
Hundreds of thousands of Britons had been due to fly this weekend, with 4 million expected to go abroad, according to travel association Abta. One million passengers were due to pass through Heathrow alone this week. Only 16 flights left Heathrow yesterday out of a total of 650 scheduled services. Gatwick fared better than Heathrow. Only Heathrow's north runway is operational, with the problem being inability to clear ice and snow from stands.
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EC: Single European Sky ‘crucial’ to air traffic management in Europe
Siim Kallas, European Commission Vice President responsible for Transport, believes the Single European Sky will solve many problems, including reducing strikes like that of the Spanish air traffic controllers. He said the fragmentation of the EU airspace costs the sector €3 billion; and inefficiencies of the air traffic management system in Europe are responsible for 16 million tonnes of unnecessary CO2 emissions. Unions are still opposed.
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O’Leary blames tax for cuts to Ryanair German flights in 2011
Ryanair blames the new German tax on flights for its decision to axe 34 routes from its schedule next summer. Flights connecting Liverpool to Bremen and Birmingham to Dusseldorf are among those to be scrapped as a result of Germany's €8 ( £6.79) tax on flights, which comes into effect at the start of January. Ryanair flights between Kerry in Ireland and Dusseldorf will also be stopped but no flights from Scottish airports will be affected.(Scotsman)