General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Analysis of data at 300 European airports reveals winners and losers in 2009 by airport and country
Date added: 29 January, 2010
With 2009 airport data in for countries across Europe, Anna Aero has collated
the information. Only four of 33 countries analysed reported air traffic growth. Morocco and Turkey,
and Albania and Latvia(both basically one-airport countries dominated by fast-growing
Tirana and Riga). Europe’s ‘big 5′ country markets averaged traffic declines of around 6% with
Spain suffering the most. Seven countries saw air travel fall by 10% or more.
The UK was down by 7.2%.
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IATA: 2009 – worst demand decline in history, encouraging year-end improvements
Date added: 27 January, 2010
IATA global aviation figures for December and all 2009 show the largest ever post-war decline in scheduled air traffic, down - 3.5%. Average load factor was 75%. Freight showed a full-year decline of 10.1% with an average load factor of 49.1%. In Europe, passenger demand was down - 5% for the year, and down -1.2% in December, compared to Dec 2008. 2010 will be "another spartan year focused on matching capacity carefully to demand and controlling costs," said Bisignani.
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90 feared dead as Ethiopian Airlines 737 crashes into Med
Date added: 25 January, 2010
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 carrying 90 people crashed into the Mediterranean
in flames just minutes after takeoff from Beirut, heading for Addis Ababa. At
least 12 bodies have been recovered. The plane was carrying 90 people, including 83 passengers and 7 crew. The cause
of the accident is not known but at the time Lebanon had been hit by bad weather,
with crackling thunder, lightning and pouring rain. Terrorism is not suspected.
(Independent)
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New Prestwick air traffic control centre opens
Date added: 25 January, 2010
The new air traffic control centre at Prestwick is now open. About 130 controllers have relocated from Manchester to complete the plan to
control UK airspace from 2 centres instead of 4. The other is at Swanwick in Hampshire. The
move brings to an end 35 years of air traffic control from the centre in Manchester. More than 800 people are employed at Prestwick controlling more airspace than
any other European control centre.
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Air France-KLM to charge obese flyers almost double
Date added: 20 January, 2010
Obese people who are unable to squeeze into a single plane seat will have to pay nearly double to fly with Air France-KLM in future, starting from 1st April. They will have to pay 75% of the cost of a 2nd seat (the full price excluding tax and surcharges) on top of the full price for the first - unless the plane is not full.
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Air France rail plans put on hold
Date added: 19 January, 2010
Plans by France's national airline to run high-speed trains have been put on hold after the French government introduced legislation widely viewed as restricting new operators' freedom. Air France said the plans were "not an urgent dossier" because the company did not have "any visibility on the rail transport deregulation rules". The French legislation allows regulators to ban services that are seen as harmful to publicly subsidised services. (FT)
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bmi ditches short-haul Business Class
Date added: 19 January, 2010
On 27th January, BMI launches a new service without a business class cabin.
BMI say business customers value business lounges, a seat at the front of the
aircraft and complimentary food and drink, but most no longer have business class
travel policies for short flight travel. So BMI has added some of these features
on a flexible economy fare, with lower APD. (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation)
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Pew report finds reductions in aviation GHG emissions over business-as-usual projections could be halved
Date added: 19 January, 2010
Under business-as-usual (BAU) forecasts, CO2 emissions from global aviation are estimated to grow 3.1% per year over the next 40 years, resulting in a 300% increase in emissions by 2050 compared to 2007. However, a new report published by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change finds that reductions of more than 50% below the projected levels are possible. [ie. still a 150% rise]. For these reductions, international and domestic policy intervention is needed.
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Green groups welcome proposals to allow greater access to environmental justice
Date added: 14 January, 2010
Leading environmental campaign groups have welcomed proposals by Lord Justice
Jackson for changes to the legal system to improve access to justice in environmental
protection cases and have called on the Government to act urgently to make the
necessary changes to the costs rules. The Coalition for Access to Justice for the Environment (CAJE) will now write
to the Government urging it to act swiftly on these matters. (FoE)
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Chinese carriers return to profit; concerns remain over competition, fuel
Date added: 12 January, 2010
Chinese airlines earned a profit of CNY 7.4 billion ($1.08 billion) in 2009,
compared to the CNY 31.8 billion net loss in 2008. Passenger boardings rose 19.7%
to 230 million and cargo volume rose 9.3% to 4.5 million tonnes. CAAC expects
passenger boardings to rise 13% to 260 million, while cargo to grow 12% to 5 million
tonnes. Chinese carriers collectively added 158 aircraft last year and this year
airlines plan to add 208 aircraft and phase out 17.
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