General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
DfT research on “Public experiences of and attitudes towards air travel”
The DfT has published a new report on people’s experiences of and attitudes towards air travel. Some of its many findings: 47% of adults had flown in the past year. 16% made 3 or more flights. 18% had made a long haul flight. 21% thought they would fly more next year. The proportion of respondents who agree that ‘air travel harms the environment’ fell from 70% in the 2006 survey to 66% in 2008 and 62% in 2010. 39% did not know if flying harmed the environment.
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Manchester Airport Group posts big drop in profits in year to end of March
Manchester Airport Group has posted another big drop in annual profits but said they would have been even lower without a tight rein on costs and an investment programme which helped to shore up revenues. Operating profits for the year to March 31 nosedived 28.4%, from £78.4m to £56.1m, although turnover held up relatively well with a -6% decline from £371.3m to £348.9m. Passengers were down 12% and cargo down 5%. Profits were made from shopping and car parking.
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British Airways reports £164m loss in first quarter
BA has revealed a steep loss for the April-June quarter after being hit by cabin crew strikes (15 days in the reporting quarter) and disruption caused by the ash crisis. Its pre-tax loss was £164m, larger than the £148m loss it made in the same period last year. BA's revenues were were down 2.3%. BA and Iberia may merge, with Iberia having till the end of September to decide. Its total costs were down 3.3% and per passenger yield rose b 12.7%. (BBC)
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Airblue passenger plane crashes near Islamabad – survivors unlikely
An Airblue Airbus A321 from Karachi carrying 152 people (of whom 6 were crew) has crashed into the hills near Pakistan's capital, during heavy rain. The cause of the crash is not yet known. There may be no survivors. Airblue flies within Pakistan as well as internationally to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the UK. Witnesses said the plane appeared to be flying very low over houses in Islamabad perhaps awaiting permission to land.
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Passengers could face new flight levy to cover airline failures
Airline passengers could face a £1 levy on plane tickets bought in the UK to fund a scheme to get holidaymakers home when a carrier collapses. The Coalition is ready to revive the plans which were rejected by Labour, following pressure from major airlines. Under current arrangements protection under ATOL is limited to those who have bought a package holiday. However, now more families put together their own packages via the internet. (Telegraph)
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Mawhinney report on high speed access to Heathrow published
Commenting on the independent report by Lord Mawhinney on High speed rail access to Heathrow, a CPRE spokesman said "It is clear from this report that Lord Mawhinney found no compelling case for a high speed link to Heathrow at present. ... Instead the report recommends better planning to integrate the proposed High Speed 2 route and Heathrow into the existing rail network."
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Hammond unveils proposals on reform of framework for the economic regulation of airports
The Transport Secretary published proposals to improve airports to put passengers first. Also to encourage competition between airports and promote investment which will make Britain's major airports better, not bigger. The CAA will also be given a supplementary financing duty to drive passenger focused investment. There is nothing on the environment and nothing to protect the public who are not passengers. (DfT)
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Ash crisis sees Ryanair profits fall 24% in first quarter of 2010
Ryanair forecast that fares could rise by 10 - 15% over the summer after it reported a fall in 1st-quarter (ending June 30th) profits of 24%, partly caused by the ash cloud. Profits fell to €93.7m. The disruption caused by the volcano led to the cancellation of 9,400 Ryanair flights, travel chaos, and cost Ryanair €50m. About 1.5m passengers disrupted by the ash received refunds for their tickets. During the quarter average journey lengths increased 13%.
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Small change to VAT on larger private planes
The recent budget has made a small change to the way VAT is charged. The supply, repair, or maintenance, of an aircraft is zero-rated for VAT purposes if it weighs 8,000kg or more, and is not designed or adapted for recreational or pleasure use. After 1.1.2011 aircraft will be zero rated only if it is used by a commercial airline operating on international routes, regardless of weight. But this will only affect private planes, not commercial airlines.
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Push up cost of air travel to cut demand, say Institute for Civil Engineers
In a new report the Institution of Civil Engineers say the price of air travel should be increased and the Coalition’s decision to scrap Heathrow’s 3rd runway could also leave Britain lagging behind its European rivals. The report calls for a minimum carbon price to make flying more expensive, as APD is too low to have any effect in reducing demand. A DfT spokesman said we cannot allow air traffic growth to continue at the levels it has in the past. (Telegraph)