General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Environment: Commission warns UK about unfair cost of challenging decisions
The EC is warning the UK about prohibitively expensive challenges to the legality of decisions on the environment. The Commission sent an initial warning to the UK government in 2007; failure to respond to this could result in a summons to the European Court. The public must be allowed to challenge decisions. The Commission is concerned that in the UK the cost is preventing NGOs and individuals from bringing cases against public bodies. (Europa)
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Blended winglet – manufacturer claims huge technology fuel savings by planes
Seattle-based Aviation Partners Boeing has calculated that 2 billion gallons of jet fuel have been saved by its blended winglet technology. The company says its winglets are now fitted on more than 3,700 aircraft and 21 different airline and business jet aircraft models, at a rate of over 400 aircraft per year. The technology makes the aircraft’s wing more efficient by reducing drag and increasing lift can be fitted onto existing planes. (GreenAir online)
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CAA statistics show last year’s fall in passenger numbers was biggest since the second world war
UK airports handled 17 million (7.3%) fewer passengers in 2009 than in 2008, the largest annual decline for 65 years. It is the first time numbers have fallen consecutively for 2 years, reducing passenger numbers to levels not seen since 2004. Traffic declined the most in the 1st quarter of 2009, with a drop of 12.5%, but the rate of decline eased as the year progressed. Regional airports saw a passenger drop of 10.7% and London airports a drop of of 4.9%.
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Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers maps out her vision for Britain’s roads, trains and planes
Theresa Villier confirms the Tories have an alternative vision for Heathrow which is "a top class new rail link at the airport connected to high-speed rail to provide not only an alternative to thousands of short-haul flights to make the airport less over-crowded but to make it much easier and more pleasant to get to." She appreciates that the environmental impact of runway 3 is not acceptable and far outweighs a business case. (Telegraph)
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Air travel drops for second year during recession
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Plenty of new airports but few regional passengers in China
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Vince Cable delivers speech to the Green Alliance including aviation policy
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IATA – January demand slightly up but industry to remain in the red for 2010
January global air passenger demand was up 6.4% on Jan 2009, with a 1.2% increase in passenger capacity and load factor 75.9% (up from the 72.2% in Jan 2009. International cargo demand was up 28.3% with only a 3.7% increase in capacity, so cargo load factor was 49.6% (up from the 40.1% recorded in Jan 2009. The large increases in year-on-year comparisons reflect a steady "improvement" from the precipitous fall in demand in the early part of 2009.
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BA flies ‘ghost planes’ to train strike-breaking crews
BA is running "ghost flights" to train strike-breaking cabin crews ahead of a threatened walkout next month. Flights have been added from Heathrow to Cardiff and Glasgow to allow ground staff to gain experience in the air. BA’s cabin crew are usually trained on scheduled services with paying customers. However, due to limited time, emergency crews are being trained with colleagues pretending to be passengers. (Times)
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BAA losses hit £822m on Gatwick sale
BAA said its pre-tax losses had widened last year due in part to a loss of £277.3m from the sale of Gatwick which was sold before the end of the financial year for £1.5bn to Global Infrastructure Partners. The loss on the sale helped push pre-tax losses from £324.2m to £821.9m. The group also took an exceptional charge of £217.8m relating to increased pension scheme deficits, but this was lower than the third quarter when it booked a charge of £261m. (FT)