# EASA | EU Aviation Regulations and Policies



## hkskyline

*FACTBOX-EU plane ticket tax - who favours it, who opposes it*

LUXEMBOURG, May 14 (Reuters) - The European Commission was asked by European Union finance ministers on Saturday to draw up plans for on levy on airline tickets that each country would be free to implement to help pay for more development aid.

Following are some basic facts about the air tax, why it was suggested and the extent of support so far.

*FOR AND AGAINST*

* French President Jacques Chirac aired the idea, telling the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January that a tax of $1 per airline ticket could raise $10 billion a year to fund bigger campaigns against AIDs and other diseases in Africa

* German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder backs Chirac, who has not explained how he calculated the $10 billion.

* Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced at the May 14 Luxembourg meeting of EU finance ministers that 5 or 6 countries were ready to go ahead with a voluntary system.

* Spain is said by France to be in favour alongside France and Germany. Belgium says it supports the plan.

* Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm says his country would be willing to sign up to a tax that helps Dutch state finances, making it clear his country would like money for other reasons since it is one of the few to already meet Africa aid targets.

* Those who voiced opposition at the same meeting included Austria, Greece, Ireland, Hungary and, according to EU officials, several other eastern European countries that have just joined the EU who are worried more about getting their own public finances in shape to join the euro. Italy cautious too.

* Sweden and Finland have made it clear they do not like the idea. Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson met Finnish counterpart Matti Vanhanen in April, with Persson saying he did not think the idea or an airline tax was practical.

*WHY AND WHAT NEXT*

* French Finance Minister Thierry Breton says no exact amount for the levy has been fixed but something in the region of 1 to 3 euros is what could be expected.

* Juncker says the Commission to report back for a decision by finance ministers at their next meeting on June 7.

* Countries are looking for ways to fund aid for Africa and meet the Millennium Development Goals, which were agreed at U.N. level in 2000 and include halving poverty and disease by 2015.

* Britain chairs G7/G8 club of industrial powers and insists on deal on aid/debt relief for Africa at a July 6 summit that will take place in Gleneagles, Scotland, but nobody agrees on where to find the money.

* Among G7/G8 countries, reactions to Britain's plans for debt relief and raising an extra $50 billion a year for aid are still blurred but roughly as follows:

U.S. (No), Japan (No, has other ideas), Canada (said not to be in favour), Germany (yes, to a point), France (yes, to a point), Italy (not clear but perhaps less keen than France, Germany), Britain (yes)


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## drwho

*EU ministers agree tax on flying*

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4545123.stm

i just find the idea absurd


"The tax is expected to be compulsory in Belgium, France and Germany, while Malta and Cyprus and Ireland would give passengers a choice as to whether they pay it."

So i can buy my ticket in Ireland and still get away from the tax?


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## hkskyline

*EU to Propose Emergency Coordinated Air Safety Plan*

*EU to propose emergency coordinated air safety plan *
26 May 2005

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union will propose an "emergency coordination procedure" for airline safety so that in the future European governments don't take unilateral action against airlines, the EU head office said Thursday.

The move comes after the Netherlands imposed a one-month ban on Turkish charter airline Onur Air two weeks ago because of safety concerns, sparking subsequent bans at Swiss, French and German airports.

The countries agreed in principle to lift their bans on Tuesday after Onur Air said it would submit to additional safety inspections.

"We are going to set up an early warning system," Stefaan de Rynck, spokesman for EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, said after a meeting of aviation experts from the EU's 25 member states.

In the future, "action should be taken in a coordinated way," de Rynck added.

The European Commission also wants EU governments to give it the power to impose EU-wide flight suspensions and bans. EU governments have rejected such a move in the past.

The original decision by the Netherlands to ban Onur Air left thousands of Dutch holiday makers and others stranded in Turkey looking for alternative arrangements.

Onur Air is primarily a budget domestic airline in Turkey, but it is also chartered to carry some of the millions of Europeans who vacation in Turkey during the summer.

To avoid future disruptions, all EU countries should step up inspections of Onur Air flights, the Commission said.

The plan for an emergency coordination procedure comes as EU governments are moving toward stricter controls for foreign airlines that operate in its member countries.

Last February the Commission unveiled plans to create a blacklist to publish the names of airlines that are banned by any EU member country.

The blacklist plan follows the crash of an Egyptian Flash Airlines jet into the Red Sea in 2004 that killed 148, mostly French tourists. The airline had already been banned by Switzerland -- which is not an EU member but works closely with the bloc -- when the crash occurred.


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## hkskyline

*EU Considers Including Aviation In Emissions Trading*

*EU Considers Including Aviation In Emissions Trading*
31 May 2005

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The European Commission is considering including aviation in its emissions trading program, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said Tuesday.

Speaking at the opening of a week-long conference on climate change and the environment, Dimas warned that action must be taken because emissions from aviation rose by nearly 70% from 1990 to 2002, and continues to increase with the rise of low cost airlines.

In response, the Commission is considering a fuel tax, extra ticket charges - or inclusion in the European Union's emissions trading scheme.

"It is the most probable to be approved," Dimas said. A decision would be taken at the end of June or beginning of July.

Action won't come overnight. Airlines will join the system only after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol on climate change expires.

"It will be difficult to do it before, but we shall try," Dimas said.

Airlines favor the emissions trading plan over the other possible taxes, saying it will hurt their business least.

"Charges and taxes are aimed at reducing the number of people flying, which has a serious affect on our business," said David Henderson, the spokesman of the Association for European Airlines. "We contribute only a small amount to overall greenhouse gasses."

Separately, Dimas said the emissions trading plan is going smoothly, with prices hovering around record highs. EUR19.45 a metric ton.

Relations with the U.S. remain fragile. Dimas said he "agreed to disagree" with the U.S. on the Kyoto Protocol. In recent environment talks, he said Kyoto wasn't even mentioned.

But he has not given up trying to convince the U.S. to sign the agreement. As long as the U.S. stays out, he said it would be difficult to include fast-growing development economies such as India.

The European Union will take a low profile on nuclear energy. Dimas said he understood why politicians are reluctant to discuss it because of the public outcry about waste disposal and the cost of building new plants. But he added that some countries are in the process of increasing their number of nuclear power plants, adding that nuclear is a positive in dealing with greenhouse gases.

Finally, Dimas urged European carmakers to respect their voluntary commitment to limit the CO2 emissions of their vehicles to 100-140 grams a kilometer. Carmakers promised to reach this goal by 2008, but now look unlikely to do so. Dimas said he met with the industry representatives a few days ago and urged them to stick to their promises, though he lacks any powers to force them.


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## hkskyline

*Growth of aviation sector 'poses threat to climate change targets' *
By FIONA HARVEY
9 June 2005
Financial Times

Low-cost airlines and their cut-price holidays pose a serious threat to the government's climate change targets, MPs were told yesterday.

A report commissioned by Friends of the Earth, the campaign group, argued that the growth in the aviation sector could wipe out the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions made by other sectors of the economy.

The report calculated that if aviation were to continue to grow at current rates, by 2037 the emissions from aviation would be equal to the total amount of emissions government targets envisage for the economy as a whole. The research was carried out by the Tyndall centre, a climate change research body.

Peter Ainsworth MP, who chaired the environmental audit committee in the last parliament, said: "We cannot allow the aviation sector to destroy our efforts to stop climate change and I will be calling on Alistair Darling to justify the government's inconsistency on this issue."

Air passenger traffic in the UK increased by an average of 6.4 per cent a year be-tween 1993 and 2001. However, the volume of emissions per passenger has decreased markedly, as manufacturers have incorporated fuel efficiency measures. Over the past 40 years, better airframes, larger aircraft, and improved engine technology have reduced emissions by 70 per cent per passenger per kilometre.

Measuring the impact of emissions from aircraft is complex, however. When emitted at altitude, greenhouse gases are thought to have a worse effect on the climate than when they are emitted close to the Earth's surface. There is also dispute over the size of this effect.

The government has pushed strongly for aviation to be included within the European Union's emissions trading scheme, and last week the European Commission gave a strong indication that this would be done.


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## hkskyline

*EU To Analyze Econ Impact Of New Airline Rules - Indus *
10 June 2005

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--European Union Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot has agreed to analyze thoroughly the economic impact of all future air regulations in response to complaints from airlines.

The European Regions Airline Association, or ERA, secured the commitment at a meeting with Barrot on Thursday in Brussels. Barrot's spokesman confirmed that such an agreement had been reached.

ERA Director General, Mike Ambrose, said recent "no votes" in French and Dutch referendums on the E.U. Constitution show "there is even more need for the E.U. to achieve better standards of regulation and greater transparency."

Last month the E.U.'s ombudsman opened an investigation into the Commission's literature publicizing new airline passengers' rights after ERA complained the information was "misleading and wrong."

The ERA represents 66 airlines, whose members include regional carriers like Aegean Airlines.

At the meeting, the ERA delegation asked the Commissioner to focus on "smart regulation" that would be performance-based, non-prescriptive and developed together with industry and consumers.

ERA President Antonis Simigdalas said times are still difficult for airlines and that they can't afford poor regulation. The carriers also are concerned about safety across the transport sector, and suggested the E.U. create an equivalent agency to the U.S. Transportation Safety Board. Barrot invited the delegation to put forward proposals to the Commission.


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## hkskyline

*Worried about airline pollution? Sell your car, says Ryanair boss *
Andrew Clark 
22 June 2005
The Guardian

The thorny issue of climate change has left most airlines bending over backwards to sound green. But Europe's largest low-cost carrier, Ryanair, has dismissed its environmentally nervous rivals as "lemmings".

Ryanair's chief executive, Michael O'Leary, has refused to support an industry-wide effort to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Asked yesterday what he would say to travellers worried about the environment, he replied: "I'd say, sell your car and walk."

This week, airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, Flybe and First Choice, formed a sustainable aviation group aimed at cracking down on pollution, noise and harmful emissions.

Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would not be joining: "A lot of members of the sustainable aviation group won't be around in 10 years' time -that'll be their main contribution to sustainable aviation."

He described the coalition as an example of "high-fare airlines getting together to pursue policies blocking competition," adding: "The sustainable aviation group, God help us, is another bunch of lemmings shuffling towards a cliff edge."

Aircraft account for about 5% of carbon dioxide emissions and air travel is forecast to double within 25 years. There are fears that cheap flights could hamper efforts to fulfil Britain's commitments agreed at the Kyoto summit in tackling climate change.

The aviation industry favours an emissions trading scheme, allowing airlines to buy and sell carbon dioxide allocations. But Mr O'Leary said such a scheme amounted to a plot by airlines such as British Airways to punish rapidly growing rivals.

"British Airways won't be growing its existing emission levels because it's going nowhere - it's shrinking," he said. "We will be increasing our emissions over the next few years simply through growth in traffic."

Roger Wiltshire, director general of the British Air Transport Association, said: "They obviously don't want to engage in a debate over the environment, which is rather sad."

Environmentalists were less circumspect. Jeff Gazzard, of the GreenSkies Alliance, said: "Michael O'Leary is a recidivist, serial polluter and he should be arrested for crimes against the climate."


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## hkskyline

*EU to Seek Aviation Accords With Australia, New Zealand*

*EU to Seek Aviation Accords With Australia, New Zealand*
By Victoria Knight Dow Jones Newswires
24 June 2005
The Asian Wall Street Journal

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission on Thursday said it plans to seek the power to negotiate new airline-access agreements with Australia and New Zealand on behalf of its 25 member countries.

The commission hopes future successes with New Zealand and Australia will set precedents for deals with other countries, such as the U.S., with which it is struggling to reach a similar accord.

Such deals would be groundbreaking on paper but small in commercial scale and unlikely to result in immediate change.

But change in the aviation industry occurs slowly. The first so-called open-skies aviation treaty was reached between the U.S. and the Netherlands -- a country with one airport and no domestic market -- in 1992. Since then, the U.S. has used that deal as a template in air pacts with more than 70 countries, including New Zealand.

The omens for European Union-wide deals with New Zealand and Australia are good. The commission on Thursday unveiled pacts giving all EU airlines access to existing traffic rights negotiated by individual EU countries.

EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot described it as a "first step in our external aviation policy."

Given the bilateral deals in place, Germany-based Lufthansa, for example, could fly to Auckland from Heathrow Airport in London.

A new EU-wide deal would remove any remaining constraints on flight frequencies and foreign ownership.

EU governments are unlikely to oppose such a move. Australia and New Zealand are likely to support a broader deal because flag carriers Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand have long called for greater access to European airports.

The commission won its mandate to negotiate a new air treaty with the U.S. after a 2002 European court ruling that current bilateral treaties between individual EU countries and the U.S. are illegal. The court found the countries were discriminating against their fellow EU members because they allow access to the U.S. only for their national airlines.

The talks between the EU and Washington collapsed last year over market access by EU airlines to the U.S. domestic travel market.

The commission is likely to "achieve better results by pursuing agreements with smaller, but important, aviation partners, which are prepared to be more liberal, rather than going after deals with the U.S., Russia and China, which are more difficult to achieve," said Edmond Rose, an analyst at GCW Consulting in London.


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## hkskyline

*European Travel Easy But Info, Good Prices Lacking - Poll*

*European Travel Easy But Info, Good Prices Lacking - Poll*
1 July 2005

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Europeans find it easy to travel within the European Union, but complain about a lack of adequate information to help them plan their journeys and high ticket prices, according to an opinion poll presented by the European Commission Friday.

The majority are also unaware of their consumer rights, the poll found.

The Eurobarometer survey was carried out from Feb 9 to March 20, 2005 among 24,000 people across the E.U's 25 member nations. The survey, the first of its kind, was conducted to assess consumers' attitudes to different types of transport, given the doubling in travel since 1970. The poll covers plane, train, trams, buses and ferry.

The poll also aimed to gauge citizens' feelings on traveling within the E.U. since the removal of internal borders. Almost 70% of the people questioned said that traveling to other E.U. countries was easy. The highest level of satisfaction - 84% - was recorded in the Netherlands and the lowest in Latvia, where just 47% of people polled found traveling easy.

But incomplete and outdated travel information, cited by 44% of respondents, was cited as the major gripe by Europeans in the survey. Almost a third of respondents said ticket prices were too high. Europeans were most critical of rail services, with only 13% saying they were "very satisfied" with these services. The European Commission said the results of the survey support its efforts to establish integrated ticketing systems for international train journeys.

The survey also looked at level of awareness of European about their passenger rights. While two thirds of Europeans are aware that they have a legally-binding contract with a transport company when they buy a ticket from them, only 35% knew about the rights and obligations linked to the contract, with Belgians - 76% - the least likely to be informed.

When problems do arise, respondents showed the highest level of confidence in airlines - 53% - to rectify the situation, compared with just 35% for providers of urban transport.


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## Nephasto

High tiket prices?! We have ryanair in Europe... you don't get anything cheaper than than anywhere in the world!


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## hkskyline

*EU Backs Away From New Charges On Aircraft Emissions *
18 July 2005

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The European Commission Monday backed away from plans to impose charges on aircraft-tail pipe emissions, a retreat that underlines how cautious regulators have become in pressing costly environmental controls on business. 

The Commission was expected Wednesday to unveil plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from planes as part of efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and meet the bloc's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol accord on combating climate change. The three possibilities were a range of taxes or including aircraft emissions in an E.U-wide trading scheme from 2008. 

But E.U. officials told Dow Jones Newswires that the commission's environmental unit, headed by Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, has decided to postpone the release of the proposals until the autumn, citing the need for "further consultations." 

It is another sign of the Commission's more cautious and conciliatory approach to environmental issues. It is now toning down its REACH plan for testing chemicals and instead of attacking the U.S. on global warming, it has expressed a willingness to work with Washington. 

Airlines are excluded from Kyoto, but a European Commission paper estimates that if unchecked, airplanes' emissions will exceed all other polluters combined by 2025. The U.S., which has pulled out of Kyoto, is opposed to including airlines in an emissions trading scheme. 

European airlines, cargo carriers and manufacturers have lobbied hard against expensive measures. On Monday, six air associations that rarely work together - AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, European Business Aircraft Association, European Express Association, European Regions Airlines Association, International Air Carrier Association and Association of European Airlines - launched an initiative called the Emissions Containment Policy. It is designed to showcase the efforts the industry is making in tackling emissions. 

"The way to deal with emissions is not to stifle economic growth - certainly not if this merely reduces the competitiveness of European airlines," says Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, Secretary General of the Association of European Airlines. "When linking aviation with climate change, there exists a misconception that a given increase in traffic will produce an identical increase in carbon dioxide emissions. This is simply not the case." 

Air transport associations say they have decoupled emissions growth from traffic growth. Fuel consumption is expected to increase by only 3% in the coming years, whereas traffic will grow by at least 4%, Schulte-Strathaus argues. 

In addition, manufacturers of aircraft and engines have for decades been developing progressively more efficient technologies, according to the associations. The industry aims to halve carbon dioxide production and aircraft noise per unit of production by 2020. 

More efficient air traffic control systems could deliver a further 12% reduction in carbon dioxide, they say.


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## hkskyline

*EU Seeks Ways To Combat Airport Congestion, Reform Slots*

*EU Seeks Ways To Combat Airport Congestion, Reform Slots *
15 September 2005

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The European Union Commission Thursday said it was seeking ways to combat congestion at European airports, including a possible overhaul of takeoff and landing slots, to avert choking off economic growth. 

Forecasts indicate increasingly congested airports in Europe will be unable to meet air-traffic demand in the coming years, said the Commission. To tackle the problem, the E.U. executive has sent a consultation paper entitled "Airport Capacity, Efficiency and Safety" to airlines, airports and air-traffic managers. 

In the paper, the Commission suggests a range of options from improving slot allocation procedures, to promoting the use of regional airports and rail services. These initiatives would build upon existing legislation aimed at creating a Single European Sky and promoting the use of regional airports. 

Any attempt to shake up the rules on slots is likely to ruffle feathers at national flag carriers. Until now, national flag carriers have inherited these precious rights and most trading is limited to swaps. Airlines regard slots as scarce resources in a big-money industry, and have rebuffed past efforts by the Commission to reform allocation procedures in favor of new entrants. 

E.U. Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said: "We are working on Air Traffic Management and the Single European Sky to increase capacity in the sky. But if we do not address airport problems, this effort would be meaningless." 

Every effort should be made to construct new airports where necessary and to use existing infrastructure more efficiently, Barrot added. 

The E.U. in March 2004 agreed to unify its fragmented air-traffic-control system to reduce congestion and delays. And the E.U. last week approved long-awaited rules governing state aid to regional airports which the Commission says are designed to encourage regional development and aid the movement of air passengers. 

Generally speaking, Europe's main airports, such as those in capital cities, are used by full-service airlines, while regional airports are favored by no-frills carriers such as Ireland's Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY). 

A recent study revealed that if air demand grows just below the current rate, more than 60 airports will be congested and the top 20 airports will be saturated at least eight to ten hours a day by 2025, according to the Commission. 

Around 3.7 million flights a year will have to be canceled because of congestion if no action is taken, the commission adds.


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## savas

*European Airports lead the World in Marketing Awards*

European Airports lead the World in Marketing Awards

4 October 2005 


For the first time European airports picked up awards in all four categories at the annual OAG Airport Marketing Awards, presented this week at a Gala Dinner at the annual Routes Conference in Copenhagen. 

Winners in the four categories were announced as; 

*Munich * - Greater than 25 million passengers per year 
*Athens International* - 10-25 million passengers per year 
*Birmingham International * - 5-10 million passengers per year 
*Berlin Airports* - Less than 5 million passengers per year 

Beating off tough competition from airports around the world, the European winners were praised for their fresh approach to marketing themselves and industry partners, and for successfully executing activities that have left a positive impression in the marketplace. 

Announcing the winners at the Gala Dinner, Duncan Alexander, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East & Africa at OAG, commented “These Awards are highly prized by airports because they are voted for by their industry partners – the airline network planning community. OAG was delighted to sponsor the Airport Marketing Awards for the second year running to recognise the progress being made by airports selling their services to airlines and the public.”

In addition to recognising the highest standards in airport marketing, the Routes Conference also provides an opportunity for the international airport and airline route development community to gather at a single location and market their businesses face-to-face.


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## Giorgio

Go Athens!


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## hkskyline

*European Parliament Backs Rights for Disabled Passengers*

*European Parliament backs rights for disabled air passengers *
15 December 2005

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Parliament on Thursday voted for new rules guaranteeing disabled passengers the use of a wheelchair before and after they board EU flights. 

The law -- which needs the support of EU governments before it enters into force -- is a response to Irish budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC's treatment of disabled passengers. 

Ryanair was widely criticized in 2002 for demanding a disabled passenger pay to use a wheelchair in the airport -- a service usually provided free of charge. In October, it removed several blind passengers from a flight, claiming its rules forbade more than four disabled people per flight. 

The Parliament said airlines should also be responsible for disabled passengers before they boarded the plane, even at car parks. 

"Disabled persons and those with reduced mobility will now enjoy the same rights as all other citizens to free movement, freedom of choice and to non-discrimination while travelling by air," said Robert Evans, the British Labour MEP who championed the law. 

Airlines have said they support the new rules in principle but are worried about the higher costs, estimated as an extra 60 euro cents per passenger.


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## hkskyline

*European Low-cost Airline Bubble May Burst*

*European Low-cost Airline Bubble May Burst *
20 December 2005
By Aude Lagorce 

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- With more than 50 players, the European low-cost airline sector is set for a shake-up that will clip the wings of all but a few. 

Analysts say the experience of the United States, where most low-cost airlines have failed, suggests that Europe cannot continue to support the slew of operators currently taking off from its runways. 

"At last count, there were about 50 low-cost carriers in Europe, which is totally unsustainable," said David Stewart, head of the European office and co-founder of aviation consultancy AeroStrategy. 

That total changes from week to week, as some carriers go belly up, while low interest rates, a glut of second-hand airplanes and the success of the market leaders continue to entice new entrants into the market. 

Stewart, meanwhile, believes only three or four big low-cost carriers will still be flying in a few years. 

The winners are likely to include the top three players: Ireland-based Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY), the United Kingdom's easyJet Â and Germany's Air Berlin. In the latest financial year for which traffic figures were available, Ryanair carried 27.6 million passengers, easyJet 24.3 million and Air Berlin 13.8 million. 

In recent years, these three have eroded the turf of Europe's three largest legacy carriers, Air France-KLM (AKH), British Airways Plc (BAB), Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa , forcing them to shift their focus to their medium and long-haul operations. 

Ryanair's shares are up over 50% year to date, while easyJet shares have added more than 91% in the same time frame. 

In addition to these three, the survivors may include some of the low-cost subsidiaries of traditional airlines, such as BMI's BMI Baby. "Some will still be around because they have parents with robust businesses," Stewart said. 

It's among the 30-odd players who share about 20% of European capacity that the bloodbath long forecast by Ryanair's fiery Chief Executive Michael O' Leary is expected to take its biggest toll. 

"Most of the smaller carriers who are not supported by a rich parent are really skating on thin ice," said Doug McVitie of consultancy Arran Aerospace. 

The strength of the balance sheet will largely determine which players, if any, keep flying, Stewart said. 

But some niche players may come out on top. London-registered Wizz Air, for example, is seeking success by developing a niche in its own special airspace over Hungary and Poland. 

But even that can be tricky, says McVitie, who warns that Ryanair and easyJet's competitors must remain small and fly low under the radar if they're to survive. 

"If Ryanair notices a route that is really profitable for another carrier, they will go for it. And there's no chance the other airline will win," he said. 

Tim Coombs, managing director for consultancy Aviation Economics, agrees. 

"It would be suicide to compete head to head against Ryanair because nobody enjoys a cost base as low as they have," he said. 

Ryanair saves money, for example, by having its cabin crew do double duty in keeping the aircraft clean. 

In the end, most of Europe's low-cost airlines are likely to suffer the fate of Poland's Air Polonia, Dutch carrier V-bird, Italy's Volare and Ciaofly, for example, all of which have vanished from the radar. 

"The market is seasonal, so unless you have a wide network of routes, you can't spread your costs during the slower season," said McVitie. 

And compared with a few years ago, salvation is unlikely to come in the form of a takeover for these smaller carriers. 

"There's no incentive for Ryanair or easyJet to buy anybody. It might have made some sense in Eastern Europe before some countries joined the E.U., but now there's really no point," said Stewart. 

"As the big players can fly pretty much anywhere they like in Europe, why do they need to buy and suffer the pain of integration?" 

Ryanair's O' Leary constantly emphasizes his preference for organic growth. The airline hasn't bought any rivals since it took out KLM-owned (AKH) Buzz in 2003, partly to acquire cheap aircraft. 

The only takeover rumors in the industry stem from Germany, where DBA and Air Berlin are reported to be holding negotiations. 

Some analysts warn that market leaders must be careful not to grow too fast. 

The three largest European low-cost carriers, Ryanair, easyJet and Air Berlin, have a combined 300 medium-haul aircraft on order for delivery by 2010, with options for an additional 350. 

Based on the industry calculation that each aircraft needs 250,000 passengers a year to break even, these three airlines will have to find 75 million new passengers just to cover these firm orders. 

"It will be hard to generate such growth, that's for sure. But the challenge remains for traditional airlines to compete effectively with the low costs," said Stewart. 

Some believe they may be taking on more than they can handle, especially as some airports continue to favor their nation's flagship carriers by limiting runway access to the low-cost airlines. 

Low-cost airlines represent 40% of traffic at London airports against only 12% in Paris and 20% in Frankfurt. EasyJet and Ryanair have a mere 7% of intra-European flights at Paris Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais combined. 

When the collapse of second-ranked French airline Air Lib in 2003 freed slots at Orly airport, most went to Air France rather than to low-cost carriers. 

McVitie is more optimistic about the low-cost prospects, noting that even though growth is slowing somewhat, the European regional market has been so underserved for the past 30 years that Ryanair can still add many profitable routes to its network.


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## samsonyuen

There would definitely need to be a shake-out of the smaller operators. Is bmi baby profitable? With other recent examples from legacy airlines (Go by BA, Song by Delta, Zip by Air Canada), it seems some do well at first, but not most.


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## FM 2258

What are the other "low cost" airlines flying in Europe? The only one I can think of is Transavia.


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## Camaway

FM 2258 said:


> What are the other "low cost" airlines flying in Europe? The only one I can think of is Transavia.


German Wings
Gexx
HLX
DBA
Wizzair
SkyEurope
Niki
Blue1
Flywest
Eurowings
Aer Lingus
MyAir
Alpi Eagles
Blue-Air
...

This just off the top of my mind but am sure there are a lot more.


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## BMXican

for a complete list go to:

LowCostAirlinesEurope.org


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## mr_storms

Dont forget RyanAir and EasyJet


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## FM 2258

^^

Wait, Aer Lingus is a low cost airline? That's interesting. I guess it's kinda like how US Airways + America West is "joining together to create the worlds largest lowfare airline" as they say on their website. www.usairways.com The funny thing is that they seem to be the most expensive airline to fly out of my home city of Austin. 

AA, Delta, Continental, NWA and Southwest are reasonable while United and US Airways are prohibitively expensive.


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## Camaway

FM 2258 said:


> ^^
> 
> Wait, Aer Lingus is a low cost airline? That's interesting. I guess it's kinda like how US Airways + America West is "joining together to create the worlds largest lowfare airline" as they say on their website. www.usairways.com The funny thing is that they seem to be the most expensive airline to fly out of my home city of Austin.
> 
> AA, Delta, Continental, NWA and Southwest are reasonable while United and US Airways are prohibitively expensive.


My best friend flew from Berlin to Dublin last week for €14. I don't know what you consider it, but that is low cost to me


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## hkskyline

*EU Expects Mandate To Solve Russian Overflight Row*

*EU Expects Mandate To Solve Russian Overflight Row *
27 March 2006

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The European Commission expects to receive a mandate Monday from European governments to solve a row with Russia about the millions of euros Moscow charges European airlines for flying over Siberia on their way to Asia, an E.U. spokesman said Monday. 

Russia promised in 2004 to phase out their system of overflight charges by 2013. Brussels says Russia has done nothing to fulfill that promise to date and wants a mandate to pressure Moscow into action. 

European airlines last year paid more than EUR300 million in charges for using Siberian air space, Brussels says. 

"We hope to have a mandate from ministers today," E.U. transport spokesman Stefaan De Rynck told Dow Jones Newswires. 

European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said he was hoping for a mandate Monday afternoon. 

European transport ministers were meeting in Brussels Monday to discuss a range of issues, including whether to hand Brussels the authority to negotiate over the charges with Moscow. That issue will be discussed Monday afternoon, De Rynck said. 

European governments say Russia's methods for calculating the overflight charges aren't transparent and too high - a growing concern for carriers flying ever more frequently to China and Japan. 

Moscow's promise to phase out its current system was crucial in helping secure Europe's support for Russia joining the World Trade Organization at the end of this year. 

"We are finding the Russians are not moving on this issue despite the commitment," De Rynck said. 

Brussels wants to use a negotiating mandate to propose how charges should be phased out and what system should be used in their place. European airlines cut hundreds of miles off their routes to Asia by flying over the northern reaches of Siberia. 

Europe's executive Commission has been asking national governments for greater powers to negotiate several key chapters of Europe's airline markets. Brussels wants authority to make global airtravel deals with Russia and China. So far, European capitals are skeptical about handing over control of national airtraffic industries to Brussels.


----------



## hkskyline

*European Airline Profit Outlook*

*ANALYSIS-Sky-high fuel clouds Europe airline profit outlook *
By Jason Neely, European Aerospace & Airlines Correspondent 

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - With European airline profits at risk from soaring crude oil prices, the difference between winners and losers could boil down to hedges on fuel and more efficient planes. 

Analysts say crude oil prices, which this week hit fresh highs over $70 a barrel, will squeeze airlines, whose biggest cost after wages comes from filling their fuel tanks. 

Germany's Lufthansa is Europe's most hedged major airline, while the largest budget carrier, Ryanair, is fully exposed with no fuel hedges. 

Most European airlines have locked in cheaper prices for at least some of their fuel by purchasing hedging contracts, and some have also passed on costs to passengers through fuel surcharges. 

BA raised its surcharges on long flights this week, a move others could follow. 

"We regard it as very likely that flag carriers like Lufthansa or Air France will follow," said WestLB Equity Markets analyst Frank Skodzik in a research report. 

Analysts say the glimmer of good news in the dim fuel outlook is that underlying travel demand continues to grow, allowing Europe's airlines some flexibility to raise fares or surcharges. 

Passengers on long flights on some of Europe's biggest airlines now face surcharges of more than 50 euros ($62). 

*NEW GUIDANCE *

Profit guidance issued with a fuel assumption based on crude oil at $60 a barrel is out the window as prices atop $70, setting the stage for a wave of revised forecasts. 

Hedging, surcharges and how fuel-efficient their planes are will determine how badly airlines are hit. 

"In the current high oil price environment, the question of replacing older, less efficient fleet with newer, lighter aircraft and fuel-efficient engines has gained greater urgency," said Exane BNP Paribas analyst Nick van den Brul in a recent research report. 

Air France-KLM and BA both report annual results next month, and analysts expect fuel woes will make for cautious outlooks for the fiscal year that began this month. 

Exane's van den Brul believes Air France-KLM has a better mix of fuel hedging and new planes than rival BA. 

"The fleet benefits to Air France-KLM are being taken mainly on its B777 range," he said, noting the Boeing Co. 777 burns around 20 percent less fuel per passenger per hour than the 747 jumbo jet. 

BA said this week the recent rise in crude prices would slap another 200 million pounds ($356 million) on to its 2006 fuel bill, which is set to jump by 600 million pounds to 2.2 billion. 

*BUDGET RIVALS *

Like Air France-KLM, top European budget carrier Ryanair is benefiting from a new fleet, with its fuel-efficient Boeing 737-800s helping fatten its operating margin. 

Still, Ryanair is under mounting cost pressure as it flies completely without fuel hedges -- a rarity among its peers. 

Ryanair has also refused to pass on fuel surcharges, though its chief financial officer told Reuters last month that the airline would likely push up fares. It reports results on June 6. 

Advocates of surcharges call them a transparent way for carriers to pass fuel costs on to passengers. Critics call it window dressing on fare hikes and question why airlines with varying degrees of exposure to spot oil prices should be imposing similar surcharges. 

One carrier with significant exposure is Ryanair rival easyJet, which also has a young fleet but is hedged on just 24 percent of its fuel needs. 

Analysts say Europe's second-largest budget airline might reveal it has put more hedging in place when it reports mid-year earnings on May 3. 

EasyJet's thinner margins leave it less room to breathe than Ryanair. 

"A crude analysis shows that at a fuel bill of $700/metric tonne (of jet fuel, versus $600), we would have to lower our earnings estimates by 62 percent," he said, while noting that higher revenues and more cost cutting could help offset the fuel impact. 

He said a similar estimate for Ryanair would cut the brokerage's estimates for the Irish carrier by 23 percent. 

BA and Air France-KLM shares trade on 2006 forward price-earnings ratios of about 10, lower than Lufthansa at 14. The budget carriers trade higher, at about 18 for Ryanair and 20 for easyJet, according to Reuters Estimates. 

(Additional reporting by Michael Smith)


----------



## SLAA

*EU Blacklist*

What is the latest update on what are the current airlines that are banned from the EU? Are there any which the EU has re-considered and taken out?


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## hkskyline

SLAA said:


> What is the latest update on what are the current airlines that are banned from the EU? Are there any which the EU has re-considered and taken out?


Related thread :
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=249846


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## SLAA

Yes, thanks for the info, but I am asking for any updates, as of today? Aren't there any updates since that post?


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## hkskyline

I posted a new article in that thread a few minutes ago.


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## hkskyline

Thursday June 29, 11:01 PM
*France launches air ticket tax to fund drugs for poor *

PARIS (AFP) - A pioneering French tax on airline tickets to raise money for medicines in the developing world takes effect from Saturday, though only a handful of countries have indicated they will follow suit.

Passengers boarding aircraft in France will pay a surcharge of between one and 40 euros (1.25 and 50 dollars) from July 1 depending on their destination, and the money will go to an international fund to buy treatments for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The "air-ticket solidarity levy" has been vigorously promoted by President Jacques Chirac, but the airline industry is opposed to the scheme and of France's EU partners only Luxembourg has said it will implement the measure.

After an international conference in Paris in March, French officials said 10 other countries had signed up to the initiative: Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Congo, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nicaragua and Norway.

They have since been joined by Gabon, which will also introduce a charge on Saturday -- two euros on international flights in business and first class.

Britain says it is in principle in favour of an air-ticket levy but already has one in place that raises money for debt relief. Other rich nations such as the United States, Canada and Germany have rejected French overtures. 

France hopes to raise 200 million euros a year for an International Drug Purchase Facility, also known as Unitaid, whose function will be to bulk-buy medicines for countries -- mainly in Africa -- that cannot afford them.

According to the French foreign ministry, between six and eight million people die every year from the three major epidemics, many of whom could be saved if given access to treatments.

"A child dies every 30 seconds in Africa and no-one cares," said Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, who has led an international lobbying effort to raise support for the drugs fund.

Among his successes was a deal with the International Football Federation (FIFA) under which balls bearing the Unitaid logo are exchanged by captains at the start of each match in the World Cup finals in Germany.

More than 40 countries have announced support for Unitaid, which should be operational by October once links are finalised with the World Health Organisation and other international agencies. The fund hopes to raise a billion euros a year by 2008.

France says the airline ticket tax is a "simple, equitable, and economically neutral tool" for financing the drugs fund, and that it is appropriate to target the airline business because "it is one of the industries that benefits most from globalisation with an average annual growth of five percent."

Under a law voted through parliament last December, passengers flying out of French airports will pay one euro in economy class -- and 10 in business -- if their destination is in the EU. For flights outside Europe, the surcharges are four and 40 euros, depending on the class.

Passengers who make a stopover in France of less than 12 hours, or who stay longer because of delays, are exempt.

French officials say that 70 percent of tickets bought are for economy class inside Europe. "Neither air transport nor the tourist industry will be affected. A contribution of a few euros will not stop anyone taking a plane," said Douste-Blazy.

But the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 265 airlines, has called on countries to abandon the ticket tax, which it says is unfair and inopportune at a time of rocketing fuel costs.

"Air companies play a vital role in the economic development of nations, enabling access to world markets for goods and people. Increasing the cost of air transport is like biting the hand that feeds development," said IATA president Giovanni Bisignani.

Views in the queue at an Air France office in central Paris were guardedly in favour.

"I am from Africa and I know what these problems are all about -- so yes I am for the tax. My only worry is that the money doesn't end up in the pockets of the bigwigs like it normally does," said Denis Thangou, a 38-year-old musician from Cameroon.

"In France there are far too many taxes. You're squeezed every time you buy something. So one tax more or less, what difference does it make? You end up just accepting it," said 68-year-old Parisian Jacqueline Czerniszewska.


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## hkskyline

*EU: Russia Must Cut Overflight Charges To Join WTO *
3 July 2006

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Charges for European airlines using Russian airspace on their way to Asia are the main obstacle for Russia joining the World Trade Organization, a European Commission said Monday. 

"The E.U. wants Russia to join the WTO sooner rather than later," said E.U. trade spokesman Peter Power. Charges for planes using Siberian airspace are "the main thing slowing the process down," he said. 

Russia promised in 2004 to phase out their system of overflight charges by 2013. European governments say Russia's methods for calculating the overflight charges aren't transparent and too high - a growing concern for carriers flying ever more frequently to China and Japan. Brussels says Russia has done little yet to change its charges. 

"Russia seems to be indicating a greater commitment to resolving this. There are ongoing talks with officials," Power said. 

Transit charges on trains traveling through Russia on their way to Baltic countries such as Estonia and Lithuania are another issue Moscow must resolve before joining the WTO, Power said. 

Russia has vied for years to join the 149-member trade body that would give Moscow access to global markets, accelerate the country's economic reform and attract foreign investment. While Europe demands Moscow reform air and rail transit tolls before joining, the U.S. is wary of supporting Russia's WTO membership because of the country's booming market in counterfeited goods. 

Europe is officially a supporter for Russian accession. Once Russia joins the trade body, Brussels wants to negotiate an ambitious bilateral trade agreement with Moscow. Once talks are launched, European negotiators will seek an agreement with Russia that will tear down trade barriers; create a stable market for buying and selling oil and gas and address national security, migration and human rights issues.


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## hkskyline

*EU Parliament wants aviation tax, emissions trade *
By Jeff Mason 

STRASBOURG, France, July 4 (Reuters) - Airlines should pay a tax for jet fuel and join the European Union's emissions trading scheme to cut back on the rising amounts of greenhouse gases they produce, the European Parliament said on Tuesday. 

International aviation is not covered by the Kyoto Protocol on climate change but its emissions are projected to grow in the coming years, causing concern among environmentalists, especially as the low-cost airline sector booms in Europe. 

The European Parliament gave its backing to proposals by the executive European Commission to include airlines in the emissions trading scheme, where industries trade rights to emit carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas blamed for global warming. 

But the parliament suggested setting up a separate trading system for airlines on a trial basis first, to prevent carriers from buying up rights from power companies instead of tackling their own pollution problem. 

"A separate, closed system for aviation is crucial at the very least as a pilot scheme," said Caroline Lucas, the Greens parliament member who sponsored the resolution. 

The resolution said that if aviation eventually joined the full EU scheme, steps should be taken to ensure it did not distort trade among other sectors, for example by limiting the number of permits airlines are allowed to buy on the market. 

The parliament vote is non-binding and does not involve an actual piece of legislation. But it is considered a signal of support by EU lawmakers for future laws on airlines and the environment. A large majority in the parliament voted in favour. 

INDUSTRY DISMAY 

The European Commission made a recommendation in September that all carriers taking off from an EU airport, regardless of nationality, should be included in the scheme. That proposal drew support from EU governments, which asked the Commission for draft legislation, with impact studies, by the end of 2006. 

The parliament report called for an "immediate introduction" of a tax on kerosene or jet fuel for domestic flights and flights within the 25-nation EU, though it said exceptions could be made for non-EU carriers operating within the bloc. 

It also suggested removing an exemption for the industry to value added tax (VAT), drawing harsh criticism from airlines. 

"Any approach to aviation and the environment which calls for the simultaneous introduction of taxes on aviation fuel, VAT on airline tickets, environmental charges at airports and emissions trading scheme (ETS) totally ignores economic realities," Sylviane Lust, Director General of the International Air Carrier Association, said in a statement. 

Andrew Sentance, Chief Economist at British Airways , said he disagreed with having a closed emissions scheme for his industry. 

Airlines group IATA said the International Civil Aviation Organization was working on a global solution to aviation pollution, which accounted for 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

Greens parliamentarian Lucas told a news conference the range of proposed measures in her report would brake the industry's rapid growth. 

Under the current emissions trading system, EU countries set limits on how much CO2 companies in sectors like power and steel can emit. Those that overshoot their targets can sell extra permits, while those that pollute above their limit must buy allowances on the market or face a fine. 

(Additional reporting by Gerard Wynn in London)


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## hkskyline

Wednesday July 5, 11:15 PM
*Asia Pacific airline group opposes planned South Korean air tax *

SINGAPORE (AFP) - An association of Asia-Pacific airlines expressed opposition to a plan by the South Korean government to levy an extra tax on air fares to raise aid money for poor countries.

Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), criticized the plan "as another example of what seems to be a rash of unwelcome and misguided new taxes targetting air travel."

Reports say that South Korea is proposing to impose a tax of 1,000-won (about one US dollar) on every air passenger leaving the country in a bid to raise 15 billion won annually.

The money is to be used in helping eradicate poverty in countries such as Africa. The fund is to be administered by the the government's international support body, the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

South Korea's national assembly is expected to approve legislative changes that will authorize the collection of the levy possibly from the first half of 2007, the Korea Times reported on its website.

But Herdman of the AAPA said in a statement the proposed taxes could further hurt an airline industry which has been hit by soaring oil prices.

"Travel and tourism, and air transport in general, create millions of jobs worldwide. Over-taxing aviation is counter-productive to the wider goals of promoting economic and social development and alleviating poverty," he said.

Herdman urged the South Korean government to "seriously reconsider its position and drop this ill-conceived proposal."

AAPA is a Kuala Lumpur-based association of 17 international airlines based in the region, including Korean Air and Korea-based Asiana Airlines.

The other AAPA members are Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, China Airlines, Dragonair, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines, Thai Airways and Vietnam Airlines.


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## hkskyline

*EU Calls on Airlines to Halt Misleading Fares*

*EU calls on airlines to halt misleading fares *

BRUSSELS, July 18 (Reuters) - The European Union's top regulator took on misleading air fares on Tuesday, telling airlines to include taxes and charges in ticket prices so consumers know up front how much a journey will cost. 

The proposal, adopted by the executive European Commission, is its latest move to make the EU more consumer-friendly. Last week the body launched a plan to slash the cost of using mobile phones abroad. 

The air fare rules are seen especially aimed at low-cost carriers such as Ryanair , whose low advertised fares often turn out much higher once taxes and other charges are included. 

"Citizens must enjoy the benefits of the single market and have the possibility for more choice and quality. They must be able to easily compare fares between airlines," Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said in a statement. The proposal would also give the Commission authority to revoke or suspend airlines' licenses if they do not follow EU rules and calls for "better financial information" to reduce the number of bankruptcies among new airlines.


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## hkskyline

*Branson unveils aviation overhaul to curb global warming *

NEW YORK, Sept 27, 2006 (AFP) - British tycoon Richard Branson Wednesday urged the aviation industry to join his Virgin Atlantic airline in an ambitious plan to combat the potential "catastrophe" of global warming. 

The billionaire founder of the Virgin Group of companies said that airlines around the world had to play their part in reducing commercial planes' carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to one-quarter. 

"We need to accelerate the pace at which we reduce aviation's impact on the environment," Branson said in a letter to industry leaders including the bosses of British Airways, American Airlines and low-cost flyer Easyjet. 

"We cannot ignore that aviation does create environmental problems -- around 2.0 percent of global CO2 emissions -- although equally it produces significant economic and social benefits," he wrote. 

The plan unveiled in New York by Virgin Atlantic envisages the creation of "starting grids" for all aircraft departures -- a holding area consisting of several parking bays close to the runway. 

Planes could be towed closer to the runway before take-off, substantially reducing the time that their engines need to be running, Virgin Atlantic said. 

Arriving planes could also turn off their engines after five minutes and be towed to their stand, saving "considerable extra CO2". 

The grids would reduce fuel consumption and on-the-ground CO2 emissions by over 50 percent before take-off at London's Heathrow airport for Virgin Atlantic planes, and by nearly 90 percent for Virgin flights at JFK Airport in New York, the airline said. 

It would also mean that an aircraft flying from JFK to Heathrow could carry around two tonnes less weight in the air, it said. 

Branson's letter was addressed also to engine and aircraft manufacturers such as Rolls Royce and Boeing, and airport operators including BAA in Britain. 

It came after the flamboyant entrepreneur last week vowed to spend three billion dollars in the next decade on projects to combat global warming and reduce the dependence of Virgin planes and trains on fossil fuels. 

To cut fuel consumption, Virgin Atlantic even plans to reduce the weight of its aircraft through using lighter paint on the exterior and lighter fittings inside the cabin. 

That includes changing oxygen bottles from metal to carbon-fibre, and removing empty champagne and beer bottles which have been drunk before the plane leaves the stand for recycling. 

Branson said that combined with an earlier and smoother descent by pilots coming into land, the changes would save over 150 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year, or 25 percent of the world's aviation emissions. 

"With global warming, the world is heading for a catastrophe. The aviation industry must play its part in averting that," he said. 

The aviation plan was announced the same day that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a historic bill to make California the first US state to impose limits on the gases suspected to be behind global warming. 

The Republican administration of President George W. Bush has refused to ratify the Kyoto Accord against global warming, arguing the agreement would cripple the US economy. 

But Schwarzenegger and Branson recently joined forces with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to argue that the costs of doing nothing would be even greater. 

Another offshoot of Branson's empire, Virgin Fuels, plans to invest in a California-based ethanol company called Cilion to develop alternatives to gasoline engines. 

The entrepreneur denies his new zeal against global warming is one of the public-relations stunts for which he is famed. "If it's good for marketing, that's fine, but it's not my principal reason for doing it," he said.


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## hkskyline

*Germany aims to cap airline's CO2 emissions *
5 December 2006

FRANKFURT, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Germany wants to cap carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from airlines flying into its territory and to make them join the EU emissions trading scheme, a minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday. 

"We want to put into practice the plans by the EU Commission to extend the emissions trading scheme to aviation," Germany's Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee was quoted as saying in the Handelsblatt business daily. 

Tiefensee said the government planned to get all EU member states to agree to a EU proposal on the issue during Germany's EU presidency in the first half of 2007. 

Along with domestic flights, airlines from third countries would be required to participate in the mandatory EU trading scheme if they landed or took off in the EU, he said. 

The trade scheme is the main tool of the EU to comply with Kyoto Protocol targets to bring down greenhouse gases emissions, linked to global warming. 

It sets incentives on reducing CO2 emissions and so far covers big polluters such as power plants and oil refineries but excludes airlines, a major and growing source of pollution. 

An EU Commission draft proposal last month suggested setting caps on pollution permits for airlines from 2011, based on their CO2 emissions between 2004 and 2006. 

Under the trading scheme, permits are issued to polluters. If they emit less than their quotas allow, they can sell surplus permits but if they overshoot them, they must buy extra credits. 

A spokesman for the Berlin environment ministry said there was not yet a concrete date for the move as the Commission had to send its proposals first, expected by the end of this year 

Airlines complain that Europe is going off in its own direction as the bloc has no jurisdiction over non-EU states, thus the legislation could be opposed and delayed. 

Consumers fear that travel costs will go up. 

An environmental expert at Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt said it had only ever been a question of time before the carbon trading scheme was widened to other industries. 

"But the EU should also look to CO2-cutting solutions outside the bloc, namely involve the U.S.," said Dresdner's Armin Sandhoevel at a briefing hosted by the bank.


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## hkskyline

*European Union to include airlines in pollution allowances trading program in 2011 *
By AOIFE WHITE 
20 December 2006

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Airlines that fly within the European Union will have to trade pollution allowances beginning in 2011, the European Commission said Wednesday, which could see travelers pay more for popular short-break trips. 

Expanded rules covering all airlines that fly into the EU will take effect the next year, a move that would hit U.S. airlines on their lucrative trans-Atlantic routes. 

It also angered U.S. officials. The U.S. mission to the EU warned that the "non-consensual" inclusion of foreign airlines could break international aviation laws and "will undermine rather than support international efforts" to limit carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft. 

European airlines are generally in favor of the plan, since EU officials had warned them that refusing to back an emissions trading program would result in an aviation tax. 

"EU emissions from international air transport are increasing faster than from any other sector," the Commission said. "This growth threatens to undermine the EU's progress in cutting overall greenhouse gas emissions." 

The plan could add between 1.80 euros and 9 euros (about $2.40 to $11.80) to a typical return flight within Europe with higher price hikes for long-haul trips. The Commission claimed these would be "significantly lower" than oil price increases passed on to travelers. 

Bowing to pressure from trade partners, the EU's executive arm will give all flights to and from EU airports another year to join the program. 

All airlines -- based in the EU or elsewhere -- will have to trade carbon dioxide allowances beginning in 2012 for all flights to and from European airports, it said. 

This will break international aviation law, said U.S. spokesman Robert Gianfranceschi. "The inclusion of non-EU airlines on a non-consensual basis runs counter to EU member states' legal obligations under the Chicago convention on international civil aviation and their bilateral air transport agreements, including with the U.S.," he said. 

The EU's refusal to wait for the International Civil Aviation Organization to set up a global program "will prove unworkable," he said, calling on EU governments -- who must approve the plan -- to insist that it not be implemented without international backing. 

The Air Transport Association of America, a trade group representing U.S. airlines, said it was disappointed by the commission's "misguided decision." The EU should work through the ICAO, the group said, which is "working on appropriate multilateral solutions" to the greenhouse gas issue. 

"The EU is alone in its efforts to bypass that ongoing work," the ATA said in a prepared statement. 

ATA's members include American Airlines Inc., Southwest Airlines Co., Delta Air Lines Inc., Northwest Airlines Inc. and United Airlines Inc., among others. 

But EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas insisted that the plan was in line with international law, adding that he did not believe U.S. airlines would win a challenge to it. He called on their "moral obligation" to fight climate change. 

"We need to act globally. We need to have the United States on board," Dimas told reporters. "It's a global problem. It needs a global solution." 

He said Europe had to push ahead because international efforts were moving too slowly. 

The program gives airlines a financial incentive to reduce emissions because they can sell allowances that they don't use. But if they fail to convert to low-carbon technology or increase their flights, they will be forced to buy additional allowances to release more carbon dioxide. 

The EU said aircraft emissions make up 3 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions -- higher than any other industry -- but are increasing as cheap flights multiply and would likely double by 2020. 

"Without action, the growth in emissions from flights from EU airports will by 2012 cancel out more than a quarter of the 8 percent emission reduction the EU must achieve to reach its Kyoto Protocol target," it said. 

Someone flying from London to New York and back generates about the same level of emissions as the average person in the EU does by heating their home for a year, the Commission said. 

Emissions will be capped at the average from 2004 to 2006, it said. Some allowances will be auctioned by national governments but most will be given away. 

Airlines can trade carbon permits with other fuel-hungry industries such as power generators and steelmakers, increasing competition for a finite number of permits. 

Scandinavian airline operator SAS AB said carbon trading was the best option because it did not punish economic growth. But it said it would have preferred to start with a global plan "in environmental terms and from a competitive perspective." 

The Association of European Airlines, which represents Air France SA and British Airways PLC, backed emissions trading but warned that a poorly designed program could strip airlines of the funds they need to introduce cleaner technology. The International Air Transport Association also gave it a "cautious welcome." 

But environmentalists claimed the EU plan was too weak, citing a report from the British think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, that said airlines could make up to 2.7 billion pounds (€4 billion; US$5.26 billion) in profit because they will get emissions allowances for free and pass on the costs in higher ticket prices. 

One group, Transport and Environment, said the plan would barely reduce overall emissions and more measures were needed such as a tax on fuel and sales tax on tickets. 

The EU says it will, by the end of 2008, suggest trading another greenhouse gas released by airlines: nitrogen dioxide. 

EU governments and the Parliament must back the proposal -- and can make changes -- before it enters into force.


----------



## hkskyline

*Finnair sees tens of mln euros CO2 costs from 2011 *
By Sami Torma 

HELSINKI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Finnish national carrier Finnair said on Wednesday it may face costs of tens of millions of euros from 2011 onwards, when aviation is included in the European Commission's emissions trading system. 

The EU executive formally adopted a proposal earlier on Wednesday to include aviation in the trading system, giving international flights in and out of the EU a reprieve of a year before they have to join. 

"We have been preparing (for) that, we are talking about costs of tens of millions of euros," Finnair's head of international relations, Kari Koli, told Reuters. 

He said it was still difficult to estimate how many emissions credits Finnair would have to buy when the scheme begins, or what the cost of credits would be by then. 

The European Commission said intra-European Union flights will join the scheme, aimed at cutting global air pollution, in 2011. 

Koli said Finnair saw emissions trading as a key tool to addressing environmental concerns, but that the EU proposal would not apply globally and that there were elements likely to distort competition. 

"We are worried that, as it only concerns the EU, and as we are in a global business, it will put us in a weaker position than airlines in third countries," Koli said. 

"It (emissions trading) should be made into a global system." 

Finnair spokesman Taneli Hassinen said it was impossible to estimate the potential impact on ticket prices, or to what extent Finnair would be able to pass the costs to passengers. 

"Tickets are priced entirely based on the market situation," he told Reuters. 

The EU emissions trading scheme -- its key tool to battle global warming and meet Kyoto Protocol emissions reduction targets -- currently puts a limit on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) industries like power plants and oil refineries can emit. 

So far the scheme has excluded international aviation, which is a large and growing source of pollution as air travel booms.


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## hkskyline

*ANALYSIS-Airlines to embrace carbon market, not taxes *
By Gerard Wynn 

LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Airlines will embrace plans by Brussels, to be unveiled on Wednesday, to include the sector in the European Union's carbon trading scheme, preferring this to a tax on passengers, flights or fuel. 

But carriers are still bickering over the scope of the plans -- whether these should cover all flights or just those inside Europe -- possibly setting up years of legal disputes. 

Aviation contributes to less than 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions currently, but the sector is growing rapidly, with emissions nearly doubling between 1990 and 2004 according to the European Environment Agency. 

Pressure is building to curb greenhouse gas emissions as scientists say evidence for global warming is mounting. 

Many airlines are keen to be included in a carbon trading scheme which may have a lesser impact on their bottom line than taxes, and could even raise profits. 

"We're calling for this tougher and sooner," said Toby Nicol, spokesman for easyJet. "In the meantime we're getting nonsense airline taxes." 

British finance minister Gordon Brown doubled taxes on air passengers two weeks ago, in a move which some UK carriers say imposes charges more than four times the cost of simply buying permits and so offsetting emissions. 

Brussels is expected to announce on Wednesday plans to include just intra-EU flights in its carbon trading scheme in 2011, and all flights into and out of Europe from 2012. 

But airlines with wide networks like British Airways want just European flights included, saying this will avoid legal protests from non-European airlines. 

"If you try to apply this to all carriers wherever they're based there's all kinds of jurisdictional issues," said Paul Marston, spokesman for British Airways. "That just means there'll be big delays." 

Low fare airlines like easyJet which fly predominantly within Europe want all international flights covered, fearing that otherwise they will bear a bigger burden of costs per flight. 

"For us it's either everybody or nobody," said Nicol. 

WINDFALL PROFITS 

By inclusion in the European carbon trading scheme -- the EU's key thrust against climate change -- airlines would get a certain stock of permits to emit greenhouse gases but have to buy any extra if they exceed that cap. 

They could make big profits from the scheme if they passed on to consumers the cost of permits which they get for free, as power companies have done under the scheme, now two years old. 

"It would be perverse if the first attempt to curb aviation emissions ended up giving the sector huge windfall profits," said environmental group WWF's Keith Allott. 

Some industry is resisting a simple solution -- to auction permits rather than give them away free. 

"I would include (aviation) in the emissions trading scheme and auction 100 percent (of permits), and direct those funds into research, development and deployment," said Michael Rea, Director of strategy at the Carbon Trust, which spearheads Britain's drive to a low-carbon economy. 

"Whether you like it or not aviation is a consumer need. What's important is to incentivise aircraft manufacturers and operators to innovate."


----------



## hkskyline

*EU Tackles Rising Airport Costs*

*EU unveils plans to tackle rising airport costs *










BRUSSELS, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission laid out plans to tackle skyrocketting airport fees charged to airlines, and ultimately to passengers, by making the system more transparent and setting up independent regulators. 

With airport fees on the rise, EU Tranport Commissioner Jacques Barrot acknowledged that recently there had often been "a conflictual climate between airlines and airports". 

He said that stepping up transparency on the one hand and introducing regulators to referee disputes on the other would create a "double system that should allow for fee costs to be moderate". 

The airport fees, which make up four to eight percent of airlines' operating costs, are paid for take-offs and landings, parking, security and passenger handling. 

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 15 of the 25 most expensive airports are in Europe, with Paris, Frankfurt and Athens airports among the top. 

Airlines are angry that airport fees have taken off in recent years while they have struggled to cut costs. 

Barrot said the independent regulator system was already in place and working in Britain and that governments should not be handed the role because they "sometimes favour one company or might want to privatise an airport... and to boost its revenues". 

The Commission came up with its proposals only after "extremely thorough talks" with airport authorities and airlines, Barrot stressed. 

The airlines argued that many European airports had substantially increased their charges in recent years, and while they themselves had continued to offer low cost flights in a cut-throat industry. 

The airports argue that the rising charges are forced on them by the need to adapt to accommodate increasing air traffic and meet new security requirements in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.


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## hkskyline

*Business travellers have role in saving environment: EasyJet chief * 

LONDON, Feb 12, 2007 (AFP) - Business executives should be more economical with their company's corporate travel budgets for the sake of shareholders, but also for the sake of the environment, the founder of budget airline EasyJet wrote in the Financial Times on Monday. 

"Despite the fact that climate change dominated the agenda in Davos (the Swiss city that hosted the World Economic Forum last month) this year, I did not detect any abatement in the use of private jets by moguls who gathered there to save the world," Stelios Haji-Ioannou wrote in the business daily. 

"Being frugal with shareholders' money when it comes to corporate travel is, by an amazing coincidence, better for the environment too." 

Haji-Ioannou threw his backing behind a global emissions trading scheme that included the world's airlines, but added that business executives should give more thought to the way they travel as part of their work. 

"Executives should realise that flying on premium class on short-haul flights is expensive on the corporate budget as well as the environment -- and for very little actual benefit," he wrote. 

"Should people really be driving 4x4s when a 'smart car' would do the job? And wouldn't the train work just as well for day-to-day commuting?" 

"The underlying theme here is that being economical with the travel budget equals being economical with the planet's resources."


----------



## hkskyline

*Virgin's Branson to shun thirsty 4-engined planes *

LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Virgin Group boss Richard Branson said on Friday he would aim to avoid buying fuel-thirsty four-engined aeroplanes in future to curb fuel costs and the environmental impact of his fast-growing airlines. 

Fears that CO2 emissions from airlines are fuelling climate change will not reduce demand for air travel, he added, but innovation in biofuels could provide a solution in the next decade. 

Virgin Atlantic's fleet of 38 planes all have four engines, and it has six four-engined Airbus A380 superjumbos on order. 

But in April the airline said it was buying 15 of Boeing's new fuel-efficient carbon-composite 787 Dreamliner jets with two engines, which burn 27 percent less fuel than the Airbus A340s they will replace. 

"Global warming has become a priority, but it also makes good economic sense to be eco-friendly," Branson told reporters, adding he favoured two-engined jets for the future. "We've just announced the 787, which has two engines." 

In the past Branson favoured four-engined planes because he said passengers, staff and pilots preferred them. 

But aviation's impact on the environment has become a hot topic in Britain this summer, with climate change protesters camping at London's Heathrow airport to protest against the industry's rapid expansion. 

DIRTY BUSINESS 

From 3 percent of mankind's total contribution to global warming in 2005, aviation's emissions are set to rise by a factor of two to five by 2050, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a major report this year. 

Branson, who was in London to promote the PICNIC environmental innovation competition, doubted travellers would be deterred by the figures and called on politicians to act. 

"Realistically, flying is something people need to do and will do," he said. "I don't think people will change their habits if it affects their lifestyle." 

"It's up to business leaders and politicians to come up with ways of reducing emissions," he added. "I suspect governments should make sure fuel prices don't drop." 

Virgin is developing biofuels for aircraft alongside Boeing and engine-maker GE Aviation and plans to test them next year. 

"We've said we will fly a jet engine on a 747 using biofuels sometime next year, people say the end of next year," said Branson. "But I believe we'll be able to bring that forward. We have to make sure it's economically viable to roll out across the Virgin fleet." 

"Hopefully, ten years from now our planes can be carbon neutral," he added. "It's not just charitable. We've got to come up with a fuel that knocks oil for six." 

Branson has pledged that for the next 10 years all profits from his 51 percent stakes in Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains will be invested in renewable energy. 

"I've got a dirty business with my planes... Let's put some money into doing something about it," he said. 

Branson also holds smaller stakes in Australian airline Virgin Blue, Malaysia's AirAsia X, U.S. low-cost airline Virgin America and Virgin Nigeria.


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## hkskyline

*Cathay Pacific chief hits out at anti-aviation critics *

HONG KONG, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - The chief executive of Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said Wednesday the aviation industry had been unfairly demonised for its role in climate change, and that a more rational debate was required. 

Tony Tyler said perspective needed was about the size of the airline industry's emission of greenhouse gases, which are blamed for global climate change. 

"I get really fed up with things that are written or said in some parts of the world media (about aviation's responsibility for climate change)," he told a meeting of the Asia Pacific Aviation Media Association. 

"Aviation in Europe has become public enemy number one. To be fair, the industry was a bit slow to see that dynamite-laden freight train headed in our direction." 

The European Union is considering plans to limit carbon emissions from airlines from 2011 to step up the fight against global warming and recently Britain doubled its air passenger duty. 

Tyler said the aviation industry was responsible for just two percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, one of the main greenhouse gases, compared to the much bigger emitters such as power generation, but took a larger share of the blame. 

He insisted he did not underestimate the significance of the climate change issue, and that aviation was only part of the problem. 

"We need a more rational and sensible debate," he said. 

"I think it is very important to set a context. We contribute two percent of global CO2 emissions. It is also growing, that is not acceptable. 

"Singling out aviation distracts from the task of putting together effective a set of initiatives that are pretty urgently required." 

He added that aviation's role as a key driver of economic growth should be better recognised. 

Tyler conceded that Cathay's carbon footprint had increased in recent years to reflect its growth, but that it had improved energy efficiency and introduced measures to offset its carbon emissions.


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## hkskyline

*easyJet puts itself at forefront of green-aviation debate *
21 September 2007

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - No-frills airline easyJet PLC this week put itself at the forefront of the green debate by calling for the scrapping of UK air passenger duty (APD) in favour of a levy which taxes aircraft rather than passengers. 

The Luton-based carrier wants to see APD scrapped in favour of a tax that grades aircraft according to their carbon dioxide emissions and journey length. APD charges passengers 10 stg for each short-haul flight out of the UK, rising to 40 stg for an economy-class ticket on long-haul journeys. 

'The time has come to scrap APD and replace it with a 'polluter tax' that has at its heart a very simple notion -- those that fly on airlines that pollute less, like easyJet, should pay less,' easyJet's chief executive Andy Harrison told reporters at a briefing this week. 

Regional airline Aer Arann and environmental campaigning group Friends of the Earth have both backed easyJet's suggestion, saying they are in favour of a tax that encourages airlines to invest in the most environmentally-efficient aircraft for their routes. 

easyJet's proposal was made alongside the release of its new report: 'Towards Greener Skies: The Surprising Truth About Flying And The Environment', earlier this week. The report claims no-frills airlines are disproportionately hit by APD and says airlines which operate less emitting fleets than others should be rewarded by paying less tax. 

Just under half of easyJet's flights leave from UK airports, meaning the budget airline is one of the carriers' most affected by APD. UBS analyst Tim Marshall said, APD, 'as a flat tax, actually hits the lower-fare airlines more'. 

Ryanair Holdings PLC and easyJet have described APD as just another way of raising revenue for the Treasury. However, easyJet's new proposal would benefit the carrier for a number of reasons. 

easyJet likes to keep costs low, meaning the consumption of carbon-emitting fuel is kept as low, per passenger, as possible. The carrier also invests heavily in updating its fleet with more energy efficient planes. 

Under easyJet's proposal, a flight from London to Frankfurt on a new plane would incur a lower charge than taking the same trip on an older model, regardless of the number of passengers are on board. 

easyJet's standard aircraft, the Airbus' A319, usually has 124 seats but the airline, which has no business or first class seats on board, flies with 156 seats. The airline also fills the majority of its seats and last month recorded a load factor -- how full its flights are -- of 87.4 pct, significantly ahead of the likes of British Airways (BA). easyJet's report claims the fact it's flights are fuller than other legacy carriers means that 27 pct less fuel is used per flight. 

'Reforming APD in the way easyJet suggests would almost certainly be in its own interests but the firm is being a good corporate citizen by dealing with the issue in a way that is more constructive than Ryanair's more strident method of megaphone diplomacy. 

'easyJet has adopted a much more measured and constructive tone that is likely to be more effective if the outcome is a settlement that works to its benefit. But you can't blame them for seeking to advance their own interests in the process,' transport analyst Douglas McNeill at Blue Oar Securities told Thomson Financial News. 

In most countries around the world, aviation is the fastest growing source of carbon emissions. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that by 2050 aviation will account for 4 pct of all CO2 released by human activity. 

In spite of this it is unlikely that BA and Virgin Atlantic, both of which operate older fleets and have less of a load factor than easyJet, would welcome the low-cost carrier's idea, preferring to wait for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). 

Under the EU ETS large emitters of carbon dioxide within the EU are obliged every year to give back an amount of emission allowances to the government that is equivalent to their CO2 emissions in that year. 

'I would guess the likes of BA and Virgin Atlantic would prefer to pin their hopes on the introduction of the EU ETS coming in around 2012. They would probably rather operate under that system and would hope when it comes in APD would be discontinued,' said McNeill. 

easyJet also unveiled its vision of a short-haul aircraft, or 'EcoJet', that it hopes will generate 50 pct less CO2 than its current planes alongside the report. The carrier said the narrow-bodied plane would have two open rotor engines above a wide tail fin, with a body constructed of carbon composites and said it hoped it could be delivered by 2015. 

Despite easyJet's proposal and the many green measures being taken by airlines, Alice Bows, an aviation researcher at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, claims budget airlines continue to fuel demand by creating new routes and offering incentives to get people on their planes. 

The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) world airline passenger statistics for 2006 showed more than 40 mln cross-border passengers flew with Ryanair during the year, while some 22 mln passengers flew with easyJet. 

However, Blue Oar's McNeill believes image concerns could be behind many of the green moves made by Britain's budget airlines. 

'There's an important parallel here with the retail sector where all the big food retailers have been emphasising their green credentials. That is because they realise that these credentials are an important part of a modern consumer brand and easyJet has clearly arrived at the same conclusion,' he said.


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## hkskyline

*INTERVIEW-Russia to sign Siberian air pact -Mandelson *

MAFRA, Portugal, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Russia's Vladimir Putin has told EU leaders Moscow will sign a long-delayed pact to phase out fees charged to airlines flying over Siberia, EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said on Friday. 

Signing the agreement, nearly a year after it was first hammered out, would potentially remove an irritant to Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organisation. 

"President Putin said that our agreement would be signed," Mandelson told Reuters after a summit meeting between Russia and the 27-nation bloc. 

Putin did not say when Russia would sign the pact but transport authorities from both sides settled technical problems last week that had held up the signature, Mandelson said. 

"There's therefore no impediment to the agreement being signed, and we're glad that President Putin has indicated that that signing could now take place." 

Though not officially linked to Russia's quest to join the World Trade Organisation, the EU would like the issue -- along with better protection of intellectual property and other concerns -- to be solved before blessing Moscow's WTO bid. 

Russia agreed a year ago to reduce the charges, the proceeds of which go directly to Russian carrier Aeroflot, and have them scrapped completely by the end of 2013. 

The pact resolved a 20-year dispute with the European Union and paved the way for EU carriers to increase routes to Asia. 

But the agreement has languished since then while further technical details were negotiated between the two sides. 

Mandelson said he was hopeful of progress on another dispute which is directly related to Brussels backing Russia's WTO bid -- Russian export duties, especially on timber, which are a big concern for paper producers in Finland and Sweden. 

Mandelson told Reuters that Moscow believed it was committed, under a 2004 deal with Brussels on WTO accession, to eliminate the export duties only once it joins the world trade body. 

European Commission officials have previously said their understanding of the deal was that Russia should cut the duties before accession. 

"I am hopeful that if we can reach an accommodation on the basis of the 2004 agreement, it will be possible to safeguard trade flows between now and the time of the accession, when, as (Putin) said, the duties will be eliminated," Mandelson said. 

Another issue that the EU wants Russia to resolve under the terms of the 2004 deal are its railway fees that Brussels says unfairly favour Russian ports. (additional reporting by William Schomberg)


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## hkskyline

*Europe airlines could be forced to close Web sites *
12 November 2007

BRUSSELS, (Reuters) - Over half of Europe's airlines including Ryanair could be forced to close their Web sites next year if they fail to remedy problems shown by the EU consumer affairs watchdog in a probe carried out in September. 

The results of the investigation to be published on Wednesday and obtained by Reuters says "over 50 percent of all Web sites showed irregularities, in particular relating to price indications, contract terms and clarity of proposed conditions." 

"Companies will be contacted by authorities and asked to provide clarification or change their practices in four months. Those who fail to do so could face legal action leading to fines or closure of their Web sites," the report says. 

The results do not identify any airlines in particular, but the European Union's Executive Commission intends to "publish a list of companies concerned" in four months' time. 

Last month, Spain's consumer rights watchdog said it had found misleading information in seven of 12 airline ticket Web sites including Ryanair -- Europe's biggest low-cost airline. 

The Spanish authorities also found faults with Spanish carriers Vueling , Iberia and Spainair. 

"Ryanair and those other companies in the Spanish investigation are on our radar," a European Commission source told Reuters. 

The Brussels investigation, known as a "consumer sweep," focused on unfair pricing, hidden charges and terms and conditions not translated properly. The sweep was carried out with the help of 15 EU national authorities and Norway. 

Those airlines at fault were found guilty of practices including the following: 

- The price of the ticket is first indicated without airport taxes and additional fees 

- Offers promising tickets for free or at a low price, but such tickets are unavailable when the consumer wants to buy them 

- Tick boxes for insurance or additional services are ticked "yes" by default, trapping the consumer into buying unwanted items or being included on spam mailing lists 

- General terms of sales are not provided in the language version used by the consumer during the booking procedure - or not available at all in any language 

- No information is given about the rights and procedures of cancellation, transferability and ability to change dates. 

Belgium had the worst number of incidents, with 46 of 48 Web sites investigated found to be at fault. Of the 20 Web sites probed in Austria, none was found to break EU consumer rules.


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## hkskyline

*Ryanair Responds To Newspaper Reports *
13 November 2007
Edited Press Release 

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Ryanair Tuesday welcomed the latest European Commission leaks about airline pricing. It has been reported in Tuesday's newspapers that the European Consumer Affairs Commissioner, Maglena Kuneva has carried out an investigation into airline price advertising. 

Ryanair is confident that any such investigation will highlight: 

1) That no other airline matches Ryanair's low fares availability with over 50% of all seats (25 m this year) sold at the lowest two fares. 

2) Ryanair's average fare of EUR44 is the lowest in Europe, with Easyjet's (EUR66) 50% higher than Ryanair's. Ryanair's average fare is half the price of Aer Lingus' (EUR91) and less than a fifth of Air France (EUR220), Lufthansa (EUR237) and British Airways' (EUR268) average fares. Only Ryanair offers E.U. consumers a lowest fare guarantee. 

3) Ryanair is also the only airline to guarantee no fuel surcharges ever, while British Airways, Air France and Lufthansa continue to raise their unfair fuel surcharges, despite having hedged their fuel at $65 to $75 per barrel, some $25 below market prices. 

All prices advertised on Ryanair.com's home page and all of Ryanair's media advertising is fully tax inclusive. 

Over 95% of Ryanair's passengers currently decline optional insurance on Ryanair.com, which conclusively demonstrates that it is both easy to use, easy to decline and entirely optional.


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## hkskyline

*EU parliament tightens airline emissions rules *

STRASBOURG, France, Nov 13 (Reuters) - All airlines should join the European Union's emissions trading system in 2011 and face tighter pollution caps than first proposed, the European Parliament voted on Tuesday. 

Lawmakers voted in favour of a bill that would include all flights entering and exiting the 27-nation bloc in the emissions scheme at the same time. 

The executive European Commission originally proposed intra-EU flights join the scheme in 2011 and all international flights from 2012. 

The trading scheme is the EU's key instrument to fight global warming. It sets limits on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that industry may emit. Companies buy or sell permits based on whether they overshoot or undershoot their targets. 

Airlines are not currently included, however, and the United States and other countries have fought against their addition. 

Lawmakers voted to increase the amount of permits that airlines must buy upfront at auction to 25 percent from 2011 and said the sector's cap should be set at 90 percent of average emissions from the period 2004-2006, tighter than the 100 percent proposed by Brussels. 

The plan must now go to EU governments for potential changes and approval. It must be approved by parliament and EU ministers before it can become law. 

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told parliament on Monday the Commission believed a two-step approach with intra-EU flights included a year before intercontinental flights would help convince other nations that the EU scheme was workable. 

But parliament members felt two dates would put European airlines at a competitive disadvantage. 

"We want to see neutrality in terms of the impact on competition and we don't want to see some operators given a competitive edge compared to others," said Peter Liese, the German conservative deputy steering the bill through the European Union assembly, during Monday's debate. (Reporting by Jeff Mason, editing by William Schomberg/Dale Hudson)


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## hkskyline

*FACTBOX-EU executive warns airlines over Web sites *

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Over 200 European Web sites selling airline tickets, including many run by leading airlines, were warned by the European Commission on Wednesday that they face being shut down unless they stop misleading consumers. 

Below are some facts about the investigation, called a "sweep", into the Web sites: 

When was the probe carried out and by whom? 

From Sept. 24 to 28, authorities from 15 EU states and Norway investigated 446 Web sites. 

What about the other 12 EU states? 

According to the Commission, some countries including Britain, Germany, Ireland and Poland had already carried out their own "sweeps" which they submitted to Brussels before September. 

Other countries have told the Commission they will submit their data before the end of the year. A compilation of results from all 27 member states will be published in January. 

What are the offences? 

- The price of a ticket is first indicated without airport taxes and additional fees 

- Tickets are promised for free or at a low price, but are unavailable when the consumer wants to buy them 

- Tick boxes for insurance or additional services are marked "yes" by default, trapping the consumer into buying unwanted items or being included on spam mailing lists 

- General terms of sale are not provided in the language version used by the consumer during booking -- or not available at all in any language 

- No information is given about the rights and procedures of cancellation, transferability and ability to change dates. 

Who were the offenders? 

Belgium had the worst number of incidents, with 46 of 48 Web sites investigated found to be at fault. Of the 20 Web sites probed in Austria, none was found to break EU consumer rules. Greece and Cyprus also found no offenders during their probes. 


Code:


 Country    Number of searches    Number which break rules
 Sweden         32                16
 Bulgaria       54                18
 Denmark        62                25
 Greece         13                 0
 Finland        30                20
 Cyprus          8                 0
 Lithuania      40                23
 Belgium        48                46                
 Portugal       16                11
 Spain          11                 7
 Italy          11                 9
 Austria        20                 0
 Norway         31                22
 France         31                13
 Estonia        26                14
 Malta          14                 2
 Total         447               226

What are the punishments? 

Possible measures include ordering a company to change or cease a prevailing practice, imposing fines, or closing Web sites. National enforcement bodies are obliged to take measures -- repeatedly if needed -- until the infringement has ceased. 

If a national authority fails to act, the European Commission could drag the country to the European Court of Justice, Europe's highest court. (Compiled by Darren Ennis, Editing by Erica Billingham)


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## hkskyline

*Is environmentally responsible travel possible? *
15 November 2007
The Globe and Mail

When it comes to the idea of environmentally sustainable air travel, many skeptics roll their eyes. The notion that airline passengers can simply pay a fee that goes toward programs to help neutralize, or offset, the impact of airline travel doesn't get at the real heart of the problem, critics say. 

But supporters of so-called green travel say such offset programs are an important tool in fighting climate change. Airline travel “has a disproportionately large impact on the climate system,” notes the Vancouver-based David Suzuki Foundation. “It accounts for 4 to 9 per cent of the total climate-change impact of human activity.” 

The concept behind green air travel is simple: 

• Fossil-fuel burning airplanes create carbon emissions. The longer the flight, the more the emissions. 

• A specific flight's emissions can be calculated on a per-passenger basis. 

• A passenger can pay, either to the airline or to an outside company, what amounts to a user fee to offset his share of the flight's negative impact. 

• The fee goes toward environmental sustainability – tree planting, the purchase and preservation of green space, efforts to halt soil erosion, and investment in solar or wind-power projects, for example. 

Air Canada passengers, for example, can donate $1.70 to offset the carbon cost of a flight from Toronto to Montreal, or $54.27 for a flight from Toronto to Sydney, Australia; the money goes to a forestation project in Maple Ridge, B.C., arranged by not-for-profit organization Zerofootprint Inc. 

No audit trail 

The trouble is, many companies involved in the voluntary carbon-offset sector – estimated at being worth about $4-billion (U.S.) by 2010 – don't provide an audit trail of where the donated money goes, making it difficult to ultimately assess whether green-travel programs really make a difference. 

Carbon offsetting “is not the perfect solution, but it is a step in the right direction,” says Mike Greenwood, vice-president, sales and marketing, of MKI Travel & Conference Management in Ottawa. 

He says critics who think carbon offsetting is “just a licence for guilt-free travel” should look at the bigger picture. 

“No one would claim that [carbon offsetting] directly reverses the impact of one's travel,” Mr. Greenwood says. “But, just like recycling, it does have a positive effect on our global warming situation.” 

MKI Travel has teamed up with the UN Secretariat for Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to manage the global travel requirements of CBD's employees, delegates and regional offices for the next three years. 

Mr. Greenwood says his company's offset program, dubbed MKIgreen, is the first to create “a fully automated program and present it as a corporate solution.” MKI tracks the average carbon footprint for each flight booked and automatically calculates the financial contribution needed to offset the carbon emissions generated. 

The customer decides how much it wants to pay, and the money is invested in the Green Belt Movement, a non-profit body that organizes poor rural women in Africa to plant trees, combatting deforestation and impeding soil erosion. MKI manages the transactions and guarantees that the entire contribution is invested in the Green Belt Movement. 

“It is difficult and extremely time-consuming for companies to co-ordinate the offsetting of carbon emissions,” Mr. Greenwood explains. “This automated process is needed to track all of an organization's carbon emissions, and provide reporting and payment facilitation.” 

Clear standards 

Mr. Greenwood and other proponents of carbon-offset programs believe the development of clear standards and record-keeping will turn green travel skeptics into supporters. 

Deborah Carlson, a climate change campaigner with the David Suzuki Foundation, suggests that when individuals are looking for a green travel program, they choose one that meets the criteria of a reputable standard. 

The Suzuki foundation recommends the Gold Standard, she says, “an international standard developed by the World Wildlife Fund and … endorsed by many leading organizations and businesses worldwide, including the UN.” 

She says offsets registered to the Gold Standard have been verified by auditors to meet stringent environmental criteria. Those offsets registered to the Gold Standard “have the extra benefit of promoting sustainable development in the communities where they are located,” she adds. 

Although MKI works with the Green Belt Movement, Mr. Greenwood said his company's customers are free to choose other environmentally friendly programs. “We encourage all of our clients to research the variety of programs and choose one that they feel will have the most impact.” 

Eugene Peters is director of Toronto-based Green My Flight Inc., which offers green travel for airline passengers through its website (greenmyflight.com). He has found that people are looking for ways to minimize their overall environmental footprint, including their travel choices. 

“We recommend that clients address their environmental impact first and foremost through conservation efforts,” he said in an e-mail exchange. “That means reducing energy usage, minimizing waste, recycling and so forth.” 

He says green travel programs are attractive because passengers want to mitigate the impact of “unavoidable emissions such as those associated with essential air travel.” 

Still, many observers have reservations about the whole issue of carbon offsetting. A February 2007 report entitled The Carbon Neutral Myth, from the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute, for example, argues that carbon offsets simply “dilute the more radical action necessary to address the climate crisis,” partly by diverting energy from addressing the very economic structure that created climate change in the first place. 

The report also criticizes offsets for amounting to “carbon colonialism” whereby consumers in the privileged Northern Hemisphere impose the consequences of their carbon emissions on developing nations in the guise of “assistance.” 

“If you emit carbon today and plant a tree,” the report notes, “it will take a tree a 100 years to absorb the carbon emissions … in the meantime the ice caps are melting.”


----------



## hkskyline

*EU says airports should use slots more efficiently *

BRUSSELS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - European Union airports should make more efficient use of take-off and landing slots for airlines and make it easier for new carriers to get space at congested terminals, the European Commission said on Thursday. 

Airports have become better at managing tight capacity but "there is still some room for improvement, especially where it concerns market access and efficient use of slots", the EU executive said in a statement. 

Slots are essentially rights that carriers have to take off or land at specific times. 

The Commission cited concerns about the neutrality and independence of coordinators who determine which airlines get which slots at which times and said an EU regulation on the matter had failed to spur competition. 

"The provisions that aim to encourage new entrants to get a foothold at congested airports seem to have had only a limited effect on competition and on the best use of scarce capacity," it said. 

It said it would study potential improvements in the rules. "A more structured approach under the regulation to market-based slot allocation could contribute to tackling the scarcity problem," it said.


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## hkskyline

*Finnair sees risk of trade war in airline CO2 trading *

HELSINKI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The plan to include European Union air traffic in the bloc's emission trading system could trigger a trade war as countries outside the EU would not want to join it in its current form, Finnair said. 

The European Parliament voted on Tuesday to set a tighter limit on aviation's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than first proposed by the European Commission. 

Tuesday's vote was the first reading on the bill that has drawn ire from the United States and other nations. 

"The worst part is that this will be difficult to sell to countries outside the EU. They will see it is senseless in many ways. There are all the ingredients for a trade war," Finnair Chief Executive Jukka Hienonen told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference. 

"We can start this in Europe but the system needs to be such that we can sell it to others as well," Hienonen said, adding that EU airlines only represented half a percent of all CO2 emissions. 

The plan must now go to EU governments for potential changes. It must be approved by parliament and EU ministers before it can become law. 

The proposal has changed considerably in the past two weeks, Hienonen said, and added he thinks it might change further. He added Finnair does not know the cost of the proposed regulation. 

"It is very difficult to say what the price tag for this will be. Some say emission rights in the coming years could cost 3 euros per tonne but others say it could be 50 euros per tonne," Hienonen said. (Reporting by Sami Torma; editing by James Jukwey)


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## hkskyline

*EU to simplify flight reservations, sees price cuts *

BRUSSELS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The European Commission plans to simplify computerised reservation systems (CRSs) for airline tickets, saying it would boost competition and lower prices, despite doubts among some industry groups. 

Under the EU executive's proposal on Thursday for a revised code of conduct in the sector, CRSs and airlines will be free to negotiate the booking fees charged by the reservation systems and the information content provided by the airlines. 

The plan, which will now be scrutinised by the European Parliament and EU transport ministers, would thus introduce pricing freedom, the Commission said. 

"More competition in this market means lower distribution costs and airlines offering more travel options via the CRSs," EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said in a statement. 

"Consumers who use the services of a travel agent for their airline bookings will enjoy an increased offer while still being protected against any abuse or discrimination," he added. 

He said the new rules, which mark the first revision in 20 years, would ensure all booking channels competed on a level playing field. 

CRSs provide subscribers with up-to-date information about flight availabilities and fares. They allow travel agents to find flights, compare prices and make immediate confirmed reservations on behalf of their customers. But some industry groups denounced the scheme, saying it would strengthen the grip over the market by Europe's largest reservation system Amadeus, in which German air carrier Lufthansa, Franco-Dutch Air France-KLM and Spain's Iberia hold a 46 percent stake. 

"The Commission's proposal gives Amadeus and its owners a license to engage in abuse," said Brandon Mitchener, director of the Coalition for Fair Access to Reservations in Europe. 

He said Amadeus would be free to provide Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Iberia superior fare loading processes and privileged access to technology for the display and sale of their transportation at the expense of consumer choice. 

This is because the new rules do not define clearly the obligations of a "parent carrier" in the reservations systems, he said. 

Another group, Business Travel Coalition, said it was surprised the Commission was making a proposal it branded flawed while fighting to improve the quality of information on Web sites selling airline tickets. (Reporting by Marcin Grajewski, editing by Dale Hudson)


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## hkskyline

*EU agrees rules to clear up airline ticket prices *

BRUSSELS, Nov 30, 2007 (AFP) - The European Union agreed Friday new measures to make airline ticket costs more transparent by obliging companies to included all taxes and charges in the headline price first shown to consumers. 

The measures, agreed Friday by the EU's 27 member states in concert with the European Parliament, are based on the principle that the price the traveller sees should be the real cost of the ticket. 

They are aimed at better informing potential passengers and allowing them to compare prices, as in future all the taxes, fees, surcharges and other fees will be figured in. 

"From now on, passengers will enjoy the benefits of the single market and will receive complete information on the exact ticket prices, without any discrimination," said EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot. 

Europe's aviation sector has expanded markedly over the last decade, bringing down prices as more and more people travel by air. 

The European Commission says the number of routes has increased by more than 60 percent over that time. 

Before the new measures can take effect, they must be rubber-stamped by the European Parliament, which is considered to be a formality.


----------



## hkskyline

*European Airlines Deal With Lost Luggage*

* Europe's airlines slammed over lost luggage *

BRUSSELS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - European airlines should face stiffer penalties for losing luggage after complaints against carriers almost doubled, Europe's consumer watchdog said on Thursday. 

"Lost luggage" topped the list of complaints against airlines in a report compiled by the European Consumer Centre (ECC) -- which covers the European Union, Iceland and Norway -- with Irish carriers Ryanair and Aer Lingus the biggest offenders. 

"The total of complaints made rose to 2,979 in 2006 from 1,521 a year earlier," the report said, adding that problems with luggage accounted for 33 percent of claims, while 26 percent of complaints concerned cancellations and 16 percent were due to delays. 

In its report, the ECC recommends greater penalties for lost luggage and for an automatic mandatory payment for passengers to purchase emergency items when their luggage is lost. It said it had yet to determine how much this payment should be. 

"Most of the complaints in 2006 are against the same airline companies as in 2005 ... from Ireland, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and France. It is also shown that consumers from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium make the most complaints," the report said. 

"In the first six months of 2007 ... some 1,500 complaints and disputes relating to air travel have been received. This is on par with the number of complaints received in 2006 and it remains to be seen whether an increase will be recorded, once complaints received after the busy summer period have been counted." 

Although the report does not specify which airlines are responsible for the complaints, 612 angry passengers complained after travelling with "Irish airlines" -- up 181 percent from 2005. Ryanair dismissed the importance of the report. 

"The ECC received just over 400 complaints about Ryanair which equates to just 8 letters for every 1 million passengers carried by Ryanair. This is less than 10 complaints a week," it said in a statement. 

But ECC said the complaints received represent the tip of the iceberg. 

"The analysis of complaints received by ECC-Net relating to air travel should, therefore, be read within a wider context," it said in a statement.


----------



## hkskyline

*Budget airlines find new ways to bump up prices *

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Travellers flying with budget airlines are still paying more than the advertised price of the ticket, according to a report by consumer group Which? 

Despite legal measures forcing airlines to include compulsory taxes and charges in their headline prices, budget airlines are devising new ways in which to levy extra charges -- sometimes up to 28 pounds more than the advertised cost of a return flight. 

Which? found Ryanair to be the worst offender, charging passengers up to 20 pounds at the airport to check a bag into the hold and four pounds to use the check-in desk. 

Monarch Airlines and bmibaby were also found to charge up to 20 pounds for checking a bag into the hold, while Flybe charges up to 18 pounds and Easyjet up to 10 pounds. 

Easyjet charges 15 pounds for its "speedy boarding" service, while Ryanair levies a four pound fee. 

These charges comes on top of credit card fees airlines charge at the time of booking, ranging from 3.50 to 4.90 pounds. 

Lorna Cowan, editor of Holiday Which? magazine, said: "We're disappointed to see the major budget airlines are introducing charges for services that were once included in the full cost of the ticket. 

"(We) would like to see airlines put a halt to these extra charges -- who knows what they'll be charging us for next."


----------



## Bitxofo

*European airports in 2007*

Let's complete this list for top European airports in 2007:

1) LHR 67,855,100 +0.8%
2) CDG 59,922,177 + 5,4 %
3) FRA 54,167,817 +2.5%
4) MAD 52,143,275 +13.8%
5) AMS 47,800,000 +3.7%
6) LGW 35,168,300 +3.2%
7) MUC 32,948,000
8) FCO 32,947,304 +9.14%
9) BCN 32,800,570 +9,30%
10) ORY 26,440,736 + 3,2 %
11) MXP 23.850.000 +9,7%
12) STN 23.759.000 + 0.3%
13) PMI 23.227.983 +3.7%
:wink2:


----------



## Geokioy

ATHENS, GR ATH 16.6 mil


----------



## Shezan

gosh...FCO and MUC almost the same pax number :nuts:


----------



## AVION

1) LHR 67,855,100 +0.8%
2) CDG 59,922,177 + 5,4 %
3) FRA 54,167,817 +2.5%
4) MAD 52,143,275 +13.8%
5) AMS 47,800,000 +3.7%
6) LGW 35,168,300 +3.2%
7) MUC 32,948,000
8) FCO 32,947,304 +9.14%
9) BCN 32,800,570 +9,30%
10) ORY 26,440,736 + 3,2 %
11) MXP 23.850.000 +9,7%
12) STN 23.759.000 + 0.3%
13) PMI 23.227.983 +3.7%
14) ZRH 20.739.113 +7,8%
15) VIE 18.768.468 +11,30% 
16) BRU 17.876.000 + 7%
17) DUS 17.8 +7,5%


----------



## Jonesy55

I can't find the final figures for Manchester airport but it will be around 23m putting it at around 13/14th place in Europe.


----------



## [email protected]

/\

Dublin and Istanbul have passenger numbers between 20 and 25 million as well. Anybody got their 2007 figures?


----------



## pilotos

Geokioy said:


> ATHENS, GR ATH 16.6 mil


Are you sure this isn't for 2006, i don't think that they released the 2007 numbers yet, did they?


----------



## [email protected]

Some new passenger numbers:

MUC: 33.800.560 (Dec06-Nov07)
DME: 18.755.098
DUS: 17.820.000
TXL: 13.357.741
HAM: 12.780.509
CGN: 10.470.000
STR: 10.326.027


----------



## abrandao

Which one is PMI??????
PALMA DE MALLORCA???


----------



## AVION

Yes PMI=Palma

GVA 10.845.545 +9.5% 
NCE 10.385.000 +4,4%


----------



## AVION

Yes PMI=Palma

GVA 10.845.545 +9.5% 
NCE 10.385.000 +4,4%


----------



## Geokioy

Dear Pilotos...the info it's not mine I took it from the thread:
100 Busiest Airport 2007


----------



## Bitxofo

Can you add them correctly to the list, please?

Thanks!
:wink2:


----------



## cphdude

Copenhagen 2007 - 21.409.526


----------



## Jonesy55

[email protected] said:


> /\
> 
> Dublin and Istanbul have passenger numbers between 20 and 25 million as well. Anybody got their 2007 figures?


Dublin, 23.2m

http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?c_id=1113&doc_id=16394


----------



## EszettRocks

Helsinki numbers

HEL 13,090,744 +7.8 %

Domestic: 2,875,289 -1.8 %
International: 10,215,455 +10,8 %


----------



## Bitxofo

Add them to the list, please!
:gaah:

:wink2:


----------



## Viru

Russia
DME 18.755.098 +22%
SVO 14.040.000 +10%


----------



## Fede_Milan

*Top 10 in Italy*

Rome FCO: 32.945.223 +9,2 
Milan MXP: 23.885.391 +9,7 
Milan LIN: 9.926.530 +2,4 
Venice VCE: 7.076.114 +11,6 
Catania CTA: 6.083.735 +12,7 
Naples NAP: 5.775.838 +13,3 
Milan BGY: 5.741.734 +9,5 
Rome CIA: 5.401.475 +9,2 
Palermo PMO: 4.511.165 +5,4 
Bologna BLQ: 4.361.951 +9,0


----------



## Langur

2007 figures for the world's largest airport city - just shy of 140 million pax pa. Note that Heathrow now accounts for less than half of London's traffic though it may regain some market share this year when the massive new Heathrow Terminal 5 opens:

London Heathrow = 67,852,825
London Gatwick = 35,165,703
London Stansted = 23,759,554
London Luton = 9,919,828
London City = 2,912,190

London Total = 139,610,100


----------



## brisavoine

So Monkey (aka Langur, aka Mercutio, aka probably many other pseudonyms), how do you feel about Paris CDG overtaking London Heathrow within 2 to 3 years? :lol:


----------



## Conrad

brisavoine said:


> So Monkey (aka Langur, aka Mercutio, aka probably many other pseudonyms), how do you feel about Paris CDG overtaking London Heathrow within 2 to 3 years? :lol:


jesus christ, how did his post upset you? honestly, you are not better than him at all, you're just as ridiculous with your infranceeverythingsbigger-posts.


----------



## brisavoine

^^The guy creates several pseudonyms to evade bans, insults regularly other forumers, makes an apology of prostitution, and other niceties that we've witnessed with him over the years, so no wonder a lot of people are upset.


----------



## Langur

^ Chill out Brisavoine. In fact I thought you were banned once before? According to Matthieu, the only admin to comment on the matter, I was never technically banned here (though my Monkey account remains mysteriously non-functioning). Mercutio is my name at SSP. I have never used it here. Another forumer uses that name here at SSC.

Now the subject.... CDG will not overtake Heathrow in 2-3 years. You are assuming that Heathrow will remain stuck at its current level but it won't. Heathrow's capacity is constrained as much by terminal and parking constraints as by full runways. There are in fact free runway slots at Heathrow contrary to popular myth. Heathrow Terminal 5 will help hugely with the chronic terminal and gate constraints and I think Heathrow's growth will be quite rapid for the next couple of years. There are still free runway slots to be utilised (albeit at unpopular times) and larger planes (eg A380s) will also allow for additional traffic. After a couple of years however the problem of full runways will undoubtedly constrain any further growth at Heathrow if the runway situation remains unchanged. But it won't remain unchanged. I think Gordon Brown will use the "good news" period surrounding the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 in late March to announce mixed-mode use of Heathrow's existing runways (which will create a substantial increase in runway capacity) and perhaps also announce concrete plans for the widely anticipated 3rd runway and 6th terminal. It is well known that he favours this and indeed the environmental report has already concluded that expansion to a 3rd runway would not breach EU environmental standards. That doesn't mean that CDG will not eventually overtake Heathrow. Indeed I think it will overtake Heathrow - and probably before the Heathrow's 3rd runway is completed in ~2020. However it will take considerably longer than 2-3 years because London's new terminal capacity, mixed-mode runway use, and larger planes will allow it room to grow before the 3rd runway comes online. I think 2012-14 is more realistic for CDG to overtake Heathrow.

However there is no way in hell that Paris can overtake London as an airport city. Paris is frankly miles behind and France/Paris's airline sector is far less competitive. It's based around one massive airline (Air France) that is absurdly over-protected. Britain has allowed far more competition in its aviation sector and the airline services at London are much more diverse and dynamic. There are three major full service longhaul airlines at London (BA, Virgin, and BMI) compared to Paris with just Air France. London is the largest base for two of the world's largest and fastest growing airlines (Ryanair and EasyJet). There is no equivalent low cost base in Paris thanks to the French government's overly-zealous protection of Air France's virtual monopoly. London has fast-growing longhaul low cost services with more on the way (Oasis, Zoom, Transat, AirAsia X etc) and no less than three recently started business-only TransAtlantic airlines (compared to just one at Paris). Fast-growing Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Gulf Air etc have a much greater presence at London. Last time I checked Emirates alone was flying something like eight flights a day to London but just two to Paris (comparable to its Manchester service). And what when these Gulf carriers start operating their huge fleets of A380s on the route? Last time I checked most of the world's (!!) top ten fastest-growing longhaul routes were from London. Paris's airline sector is frankly not in the same league.

There is also much less demand to fly to/from Paris than from London. It's a less international city and has less important business links. French nationals fly much less frequently than Britons. Paris attracts a lot less business traffic and perhaps less tourist traffic too these days. Paris's foreign/immigrant residents are fewer and, more importantly, much poorer, and can therefore afford to fly much less frequently than London's. France/Paris's historical ties are to slow-growing regions of the world with relatively small populations. Britain's are to some of the fastest growing, most populous, and most economically dynamic regions in the world. Then there's the fact that the metro/regional population in and around London is about 50% larger than Paris's. There are no real market dynamics favouring a Paris catch-up. Paris is far behind (more than 50 million pax pa behind?) and will remain far behind even if a more enlightened French government were to open France's airline sector to more competition.


----------



## Magellan

hkskyline said:


> Yes, those are BA prices, and I found them on the other major carriers such as AA as well. The other European ones such as LH were not that far away. Keep in mind it is not low season on the transatlantic route right now. Keep an eye on the papers and the websites around Christmas time.
> 
> In the US, taxes and fuel surcharges do not need to be included on base fares. The 99 dollar amount is the base fare. Even within the EU the concept of an all-inclusive fare is a contested subject that is not consistently implemented across the board.


These are just headline prices. They may be offered by some airlines, but only to a small proportion on specific flights, excluding the full costs, and do not reflect average prices which are very much higher.

Going back to the original point; airlines are reporting that the additional competition is already affecting the margins on their ticket prices into and out of Heathrow.


----------



## Magellan

*Opinion on consolidation by BA Chairman*

_When British Airways, the biggest carrier on the North Atlantic with a market share estimated at 35%, announced record profits last week, the airline said rocketing fuel prices and weakening demand could come close to wiping out its earnings in the current financial year. Willie Walsh, the airline's chief executive, said: ‘This will make it imperative for some in the industry to seek consolidation. All airlines are going to have to take serious action to restore profitability.'

Industry executives — and transport bankers — are now starting to think about what the result of the industry squeeze will be. The Times reports today that most, like Mr Walsh, expect long-awaited industry consolidation finally to kick off, with the weaker of the American airlines likely to be most under pressure.

The big American airlines are already huddling together for safety, with a merger agreed between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, and talks going on between Continental, American and US Airways about a range of possible mergers or marketing alliances. Last month, Continental called off merger talks with United Airlines, with Wall Street sources blaming fears over the latter’s finances and whether it had the cash to ride out a downturn._

More on BMI as well:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-180508d.htm


----------



## hkskyline

Magellan said:


> These are just headline prices. They may be offered by some airlines, but only to a small proportion on specific flights, excluding the full costs, and do not reflect average prices which are very much higher.
> 
> Going back to the original point; airlines are reporting that the additional competition is already affecting the margins on their ticket prices into and out of Heathrow.


I haven't had any problems finding these prices for the vast majority of fares I was searching for, meaning almost all flights of the days. Keep in mind booking a month in advance at least would be advantageous. Christmas and after is a very low season for transatlantic travel, and plenty of specials abound will surface around that time. These rock-bottom fares are not a rarity or a gimmick.


----------



## Magellan

hkskyline said:


> I haven't had any problems finding these prices for the vast majority of fares I was searching for, meaning almost all flights of the days. Keep in mind booking a month in advance at least would be advantageous. Christmas and after is a very low season for transatlantic travel, and plenty of specials abound will surface around that time. These rock-bottom fares are not a rarity or a gimmick.


OK; I'm not going to argue with on this any more and will let it rest.

As far as I can tell, searching from the UK, these are only headline prices. I have checked several sites and looked at various periods of advanced booking but come out with ticket prices around the figures I quoted above.

Going back to the original point; airlines are reporting that the increased competition on routes into/out of Heathrow is reducing their margins on ticket prices.


----------



## hkskyline

I think the impact of open skies will be limited as it is very difficult to secure slots at Heathrow. Sure, airlines can add all sorts of routes now, but that has nothing to do with how many flights Heathrow can handle. The real price drops will occur when airlines realize they won't be able to use Heathrow, and go to alternates such as Stansted.


----------



## Magellan

hkskyline said:


> I think the impact of open skies will be limited as it is very difficult to secure slots at Heathrow. Sure, airlines can add all sorts of routes now, but that has nothing to do with how many flights Heathrow can handle.


That is the kernel of the issue; and that is why the possible take over of BMI is so significant.

BMI is a small airline with routes in the short-, medium-, and long-haul sectors and holds 12% of the slots at Heathrow, which as you say is constrained by the limited capacity for growth. Pairs of slots have been changing hands at up to £30m per pair.

A take-over of BMI would enable the new owner to re-distribute its slots (valued at about £1billion) to more profitable, long-haul routes. BA and others have already been moving some of their short-haul routes out of Heathrow to accommodate more trans-Atlantic flights. The dissolution of the BMI network would therefore be of major significance.

A take-over of BMI would give BA a marked increase in competition on its main source of income, but would be detrimental to Heathrow in that it would probably lead to a further net reduction in connections to unique destinations to/from the airport.




hkskyline said:


> The real price drops will occur when airlines realize they won't be able to use Heathrow, ...


The reductions are already happening (over and above seasonal variations) with the number of airlines operating out of Heathrow on the trans-Atlantic flights having doubled since the start of Open-Skies. Runway operations are also to be changed in order to provide an increase in the number of available slots.




hkskyline said:


> ... and go to alternates such as Stansted.


That possibility is more likely to happen if/when BAA is forced to sell one of its London airports (probably Gatwick), with the new owner possibly looking at options to attract one of the Alliances (Star Alliance may be a prime candidate given the wait to get into its own terminal at Heathrow). However, no such move is likely to happen until facilities at and to the other London airports are improved, with Heathrow being the preferred point of entry.


----------



## Magellan

*BA OpenSkies gets go ahead*

BA's OpenSkies airline has been given the go ahead to fly New York JFK to Paris Orly from June:

OpenSkies receives US approval


The intent of this start-up is to take premium passengers from its competitors so as to under mine their profitability on specific routes. More routes are planned.

It looks like BA will build the airline fleet, at least initially, with 757s cascaded from the main fleet as they are replaced.


----------



## Magellan

*BMI Profits halved*

BMI still manages to make a small profit, while operational profit was up:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-230508d.htm

While it makes provisions in its company valuation for its Heathrow slots at £770 million:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-240508a.htm


----------



## Magellan

*Virgin Bullish*

Virgin rejects a possible tie-up with Lufthansa over BMI, and is looking at its own plans for the company:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-270508a.htm


----------



## hkskyline

*ANALYSIS-Smaller airlines unlikely to survive high oil prices *

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) -A host of smaller European airlines are likely to go bankrupt in coming months if the oil price does not drop significantly below current levels of $130 a barrel.

Faced with the unprecedentedly high cost of fuel, airlines will have to hedge against the oil price and cut unprofitable flights and routes to help them stay in the air.

Pressure on airline profit margins will be exacerbated by a slowdown in demand from consumers, as well.

Short-haul weekend breaks or second holidays are expected to be high up the list of cost cuts as household bills are inflated by rising petrol, utility and food prices.

Overall, 24 airlines have gone bust around the world this year and just under half were based in Europe, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The transatlantic business class-only airline model has been wiped out.

Britain's Silverjet was forced to call in the administrators at the end of last month due to a lack of funds, following the demise of rivals MAXjet and Eos Airlines.

Now the regular and low-cost airline models are also under threat as profits plunge.

"Airlines are facing their hardest time since 2001, and it would be normal to expect some bankruptcies across the industry," said Andy Clarke, director of air transport policy at the European Regions Airline Association (ERA).

"Certain low-budget airlines won't be able to compete effectively as margins tighten and fuel costs spiral upwards," added Mark Fennessy, restructuring lawyer at Orrick law firm in London.

"In my view, the majors (British Airways , Air France and Lufthansa ) and major low-budget airlines (Ryanair and easyJet <EZJ.L) will survive although they may have to drop some unprofitable routes," he said. Andrew Fitchie, airlines analyst at broker Collins Stewart agreed that changes would have to be made.

"In the short term, the only differentiating factor is whether (an airline) has fuel hedging or not ... Those who survive must substantially cut back on capacity -- they can cut out the loss-making services and focus on what makes money," he said.

CUTTING ROUTES

Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair , spelt out the severity of the problem at the airline's annual results presentation last week.

He said that if oil remained at $130 a barrel, the group's profits of nearly 500 million euros ($780.4 million) would be wiped out in the year to end March 2009.

In what O'Leary admits was a mistake, Ryanair has not hedged at all on the assumption that oil would eventually fall -- meaning it pays the highest possible price for fuel.

In contrast, BA has 70 percent of its fuel hedged at $82 a barrel for the first quarter of this year, dropping to 55 percent at $90 in the fourth quarter.

However, if oil remains high the British carrier will bear the brunt eventually as the terms of its hedging deteriorate.

"Hedging is not really a solution. It doesn't allow you to escape the impact -- it just defers it," said Douglas O'Neill, transport analyst at Blue Oar Securities.

He added that cutting capacity was a better strategy, and a sign of good management rather than weakness. "It's a sensible reaction to the fact that some routes are not making money anymore," he said.

O'Leary said he was prepared to cut capacity on routes where there are several flights a day, rather than cutting out a route completely.

BA signalled last week that it would cut capacity later this year, with details still to be finalised.

O'Leary was characteristically blunt about which airlines were in trouble, naming Slovakia's SkyEurope as a possible casualty by the end of the summer. Small British airlines such as Jet2 , FlyGlobespan and Flybe were also on his list, prompting fierce denials from the parties involved.

Flybe said oil would have to reach $170 a barrel for its profits to be reduced to zero, while Jet2 was equally defiant.

"We are fully hedged for this summer, next winter and substantially for next summer," said Andrew Merrick, finance director of Jet2 parent Dart Group , although the firm did put out a profit warning on February due to a disappointing performance last winter.

Merrick said Jet2, which operates from airports in Northern England and Scotland, was happy with its volume of summer bookings, but Blue Oar's O'Neill said that the predicament of some airlines was being obscured by the high summer season.

He said that the onset of the quieter autumn and winter period could come alongside slowing demand from the consumer.

"At this time of year, airline cash flow is strong, but after the summer is over, you can't rule anything out," he said.


----------



## Magellan

*More Slot Trading at Heathrow*

More slots are being traded at Heathrow. There is no net change in the number of destinations served, but the trend seems to be that the regional, low margin feeder routes are being squeezed out in favour of more long distance connections. Fine if you want to get to/from London, but is undermining Heathrow's hub status:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-230608e.htm


----------



## hkskyline

*EU Parliament moves against misleading airline ads *
9 July 2008

STRASBOURG, France (AP) - The European Parliament approved a bill Wednesday to prevent airlines posting advertisements for cheap flights that hide the true price by excluding additional charges such as taxes and booking fees.

The bill passed without a vote because none of the 785 members of the EU assembly raised any objections.

A European Union report in May claimed a third of people who shop for flights online are being cheated by misleading ads and price schemes. In said airlines and other travel companies often add airport taxes, handling fees, baggage and seating charges, and a variety of other costs, on top of the prices that first appear on Web sites.

Under the rules approved Wednesday, airlines will have to clearly show the total price customers will have to pay at the start of the booking process.

"The passenger has a right to know the actual price of the ticket, including taxes and extra charges," said Arunas Degutis, the Lithuanian liberal member who drafted the bill. "It is misleading to advertise a ticket at 1 or 2 euros, when the actual cost is actually much higher."

EU governments have already approved the rules which are expected to come into force by early next year.

About 700 million travelers fly on EU airlines each year and the sector draws more consumer complaints than any other, the EU says.

The European Low Fares Airline Association said it welcomed the EU measure, claiming its members had more open pricing than traditional flag carriers.

"Low fares airlines have the most transparent pricing policies," said the group which includes easyjet, Ryanair and Sky Europe.

Such no-frills airlines have dramatically increased their share of the short-haul flight market in Europe in recent years, leading the way in online reservations.

The European Low Fares Airline Association says budget airlines currently account for over 35 percent of scheduled air traffic within Europe, with its members expected to carry over 150 million passengers in 2008.


----------



## Magellan

*Heathrow top of the list again*

"Heathrow has been ranked Europe's worst airport for delays again, as its performance continues to deteriorate, new figures show. According to the latest statistics published by the Association of European Airlines, nearly half of flights left or arrived at Heathrow at least 15 minutes late during the first three months of this year. Not only was Heathrow rated as the worst of the 27 airports in the survey, but this was the 16th quarter in succession that it was rated among the bottom 5 performers. ..."

http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-020708b.htm


----------



## hkskyline

*Spain mulls changing airline routes to offset fuel costs *
19 July 2008
Agence France Presse

Spain is considering changing commercial airline routes to make them shorter and more direct in order to offset high fuel prices, Public Works minister Magdalena Alvarez said Saturday.

Alvarez said she would ask the defence ministry to alter airspace currently reserved for military use in order to make this possible.

"If the problem is the rise in fuel prices, the best measure to support airlines is to study how to reduce fuel consumption," the minister told reporters in the southern port of Malaga.

Shorter routes would reduce flying time and allow for airlines to use their planes and crews on more flights each day in addition to cutting fuel costs, the ministry added in a statement.

Airlines around the world are struggling with the impact of rising fuel costs.

Spanair, Spain's second-largest airline, 100-percent owned by Scandinavian operator SAS, said Wednesday it is cutting about a quarter of its workforce as well as nine loss-making routes.

Last week Vueling and Clickair, two loss-making low-cost Spanish carriers, announced plans for a merger.

The number of flights between Madrid and Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city, fell by 14.2 percent in the first half of 2008 as against the corresponding period in 2007 due to the inauguration of a high-speed rail service between the two cities in February, airport authority AENA said earlier Saturday.

Traffic through Spain's airports increased by 2.8 percent on the same comparison, it added.

Spain's air carriers association AECA on Thursday urged the goverment to come up with a package of "urgent and quick" measures to help the sector and ensure that other airlines do not follow Spanair's example.


----------



## Magellan

*BA and Iberia hold merger talks*

BA has come clean on the subject of merger talks with Iberia:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7530819.stm

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aWjkyAFW.KKU

The articles indicate that the talks are at an early stage, but on past experience, the chances are against the merger going ahead given that BA has pulled out of every other take-over/merger proposal over the last ten years or so. There is also opposition to the merger within Iberia and the Spanish business sector.

Things are bad in the industry if this particular merger does go ahead.


----------



## Magellan

*Next - Austrian Airlines*

The Head of Austrian Airlines is reported to be seeking the sale of the state's 43% holding in the airline in a Government Cabinet meeting scheduled for the 12th August. This follows a report recommending the sale of Austrian Airlines to another airline, and the appointment of Merrill Lynch to find a partner. 

Lufthansa will consider a potential tie-up with Austrian when the time comes:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZFa5.hjiJzc


... while Aeroflot has ruled itself out:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a3rDrwUs4zAQ


Meanwhile a rumour has been started suggesting that Air China is possibly interested in a stake:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a1RUft2mGBCQ


Austrian's troubles are also a concern to Wien Airport with the airline providing 48% of the latter's business. Wien is looking to approach a number of the airline's competitors to broaden it income:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a0O3Qre9ChJQ


Other candidates declared and undeclared include Royal Jordanian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Air France KLM, Qatar, and Emirates.

The motivation for the sale has come about due to the airline's relatively high costs, continuing losses, the pull-out of a Saudi investor, and the lack of sufficient hedging of fuel prices rendering the business unviable in the current climate.

The sale to a foreign company may however prove controversial, and possibly become a key issue in the Austrian National elections due to take place on the 28th September, with echoes of the Italian election campaign.

The company is currently valued on the stock market at about 350 Million Euros meaning a potential buyer could gain control of company for about 160 - 180 Million Euros (on a straight cash for shares basis).

In my experience Austrian provides a high level of service and would probably be attractive to the premium airlines, such as those in the Asian market (Singapore Airlines, the Gulf airlines etc) or to airlines based in North American (if they can find the cash) looking to break into the European market. 

No doubt Lufthansa may consider it strategically important not to let the company slip under the control of a major competitor (such as BA which would find it a more natural fit than Iberia - but switching airline alliance may risk customer loyalty), though it would have little to gain except from traffic consolidation. There is however opposition to a take-over by Lufthansa from within the Austrian Government Cabinet, and BMI is more prominent in Lufthansa's plans.


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## Magellan

*Next - Austrian Airlines II*

The airline has now been put up for sale:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aT1QYvFsFuk4

http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-130808.htm

Its fate should be known by the end of October, with Lufthansa being the preferred partner within the airline but perhaps not within the Government. See also previous post.


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## Magellan

*SAS - Where to from here?*

SAS Group has recently announced further cuts in its fleet, operations and staff (the latter amounting to nearly 10% of teh workforce):

http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-140808a.htm

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a3SI9pT0.uXU

"_Cost cuts are the only way forward for SAS, but the question is whether this will be enough for them to continue as an independent airline in the long run._'', but line held within SAS is still to remain independent - "_Our whole strategy is based on standing alone_".

It seems to be getting dragged down by Spanair, with the main airline still in good condition. It plans to sell its share in BMI which should go around the end of this year to Lufthansa.

So where to from here? The group has a reasonable long-haul operation, but it is mainly a short-haul regional and domestic(s) operator. The quarterly losses it has just reported are at nearly twice the level of expectations so it has a lot of work to do. As well as grounding aircraft, it could perhaps make savings by rationalising its varied fleet with newer and smaller aircraft, and find a way of turning Spanair around or jettisoning it ASAP. The next steps get difficult. What about eliminating one or more of its three "international" hubs? In terms of consolidation, it is a little difficult to see a suitable partner which is not focused elsewhere with perhaps the exceptions being Air France KLM and Aeroflot.

More comment on SAS:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=24175682&postcount=12


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## Magellan

*AA, BA, Iberia tie-up*



Magellan said:


> BA has come clean on the subject of merger talks with Iberia:
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7530819.stm
> 
> http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aWjkyAFW.KKU
> 
> The articles indicate that the talks are at an early stage, but on past experience, the chances are against the merger going ahead given that BA has pulled out of every other take-over/merger proposal over the last ten years or so. There is also opposition to the merger within Iberia and the Spanish business sector.
> 
> Things are bad in the industry if this particular merger does go ahead.


AA, BA, and Iberia have finally announce the tie-up that has been expected since Air France KLM Delta/NWA obtained Anti-Trust Immunity from the US Government earlier this year:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-140808b.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7560790.stm


If there are any objections to this tie-up, the three will obviously refer to the Air France KLM Open-Skies tie-up with Delta/NWA as setting a precedent.

Virgin as usual are determined to attack any move made by BA:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-100808b.htm
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-100808c.htm
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-160808.htm
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-170808a.htm


... but Branson has been told to 'shut-up' and focus on his own business for a change:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-120808c.htm

Virgin is however likely to disappear as an independent (but not as a brand) in any deal negotiated with certain Middle-Eastern investment groups.


The AA/BA/Iberia dominance at Heathrow has been the sticking point in the past with regulators requiring that the airlines give up landing slots in order to get approval. This was unacceptable to the airlines, and now has less significance given the way their competitors already dominate their own home hubs:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-170808b.htm


The proposed combined airline group is also in third place in terms of share of North-Atlantic traffic so this would also be in its favour:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-160808.htm


Meanwhile, backing for the BA-Iberia merger has come from the Spanish Government, which will help to over-come some of the opposition to the deal that has existed within Iberia:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-010808b.htm


... perhaps because the difficulties that Iberia is in at the moment:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-050808.htm


... and thus creating the world's third largest airline conglomerate (in terms of revenue):
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-010808a.htm


... with its head office and main stock listing in Madrid:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/heathrow-airport-news-300708b.htm


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## hkskyline

*Europe's Worst Aviation Accidents*

*Europe's worst aviation accidents in the past 15 years *
21 August 2008
Agence France Presse

The accident involving a Spanair aircraft which crashed at Madrid's airport on Wednesday killing at least 153, is one of the most deadly in Europe in the past 15 years.

It is the worst in Spain for 23 years, when a February 1985 crash at Bilbao claimed 148 lives.

The worst aviation accident ever in Europe, and indeed in the world, remains the ground collision between two Boeing 747s at Spain's Tenerife airport on March 27, 1977 with 583 victims.

According to international statistics, however, Europe remains the safest continent on which to fly.

- January 20, 1992: FRANCE - An Airbus belonging to French airline Air Inter crashes in the region of Mont Sainte-Odile near Strasbourg, killing 87.

- March 31, 1995: ROMANIA - An Airbus belonging to Romanian air carrier Tarom crashes after take off at Bucharest airport. Sixty people are killed.

- July 25, 2000: FRANCE - An Air France Concorde headed to New York crashes while taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris: 113 die.

- July 3, 2001: RUSSIA - 145 are killed when a Tupolev flight crashes near Irkutsk in Siberia.

- October 8, 2001: ITALY - 118 are killed in the collision of a MD-87 belonging to Scandinavian airline SAS and a private Cessna aircraft in the fog at Milan-Linate airport.

- July 1, 2002: GERMANY - A collision between a Russian Tupolev and a DHL cargo plane near Ueberlingen over Lake Constance near the Swiss frontier: 71 killed.

- January 8, 2003: TURKEY - A plane belonging to Turkish Airlines crashes on landing at Diyarbakir airport. 75 are killed.

- May 26, 2003: TURKEY - A Ukrainian Yak-42 crashes near Trabzon in the northeast of the country with 75 people on board, including 62 Spanish soldiers. No survivors.

- Aug 14, 2005: GREECE - 121 are killed when a Boeing belonging to Cypriot company Helios crashes near to Athens.

- May 3, 2006: RUSSIA - An Airbus belonging to Armenian company Armavia en route to Sochi crashes in the Black Sea: 113 die.

- July 9, 2006: RUSSIA - 124 are killed when a Russian Airbus crashes on landing at Irkutsk in Siberia.

- Aug 22, 2006: UKRAINE - 170 are killed when a Russian Tupolev plane crashes in the east of the country.


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## hkskyline

*La Tribune: Air France-KLM at odds with EU environmental regulation*
8 June 2010
La Tribune

Air France-KLM has called for a revision of the EU environmental regulation concerning the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of airlines.

According to the company, the EU emission trading system may create discrepancies between European airlines and their non-European rivals.

According to Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, CEO of Air France-KLM, the European emission trading system should not be applied to long-haul flights before its approval by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Air France-KLM fears it may lose its competitive advantage against rivals from the Persian Gulf, which will not be forced to comply with the EU regulations.

Abstracted from an original article in La Tribune (Air France-KLM veut une révision des règles CO2) by Fabrice Gliszczynski.


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## hkskyline

*Aviation deal clears way for emissions scheme - EU*

BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - A global deal on emissions curbs by airlines struck late on Friday will allow the European Union to press ahead with plans to charge airlines for emissions permits from 2012, the European Commission said on Saturday.

The EU agreed in 2008 that airlines should be included in its emissions trading scheme (ETS), which forces industry to pay for permits for each tonne of carbon dioxide they emit into the atmosphere.

The ETS is the EU's main tool for combating climate change and it wants to see the system adopted worldwide. Aviation is responsible for some 2 percent of the world's carbon emissions.

Some U.S. airlines had challenged the EU's right to include their flights into and out of Europe within the ETS.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency, adopted a resolution on Friday to reduce aviation emissions with a "roadmap" up to 2050 for the 190 member states.

The aviation sector would seek to become 2 percent more fuel-efficient every year and to cap emissions from 2020.

European Commissioners for Transport Siim Kallas and for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard said in a statement they welcomed the breakthrough after almost a decade of deadlock with a deal to cover over 90 percent of worldwide air traffic.

"Crucially, ICAO has refrained from language which would make the application of the EU's ETS to their airlines dependent on the mutual agreement of other states," the Commission said, adding this had led to stalemate at the last ICAO assembly in 2007.

"This time, the EU agreed to engage constructively in dialogue with third countries during the implementation of its ETS, notably regarding how to deal with emissions from incoming flights from third countries," she continued.


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## hkskyline

*Chinese airlines join US lawsuit vs EU ETS-Point Carbon*

BEIJING, March 29 - Three Chinese airlines will join a US lawsuit against the EU in a bid to prevent the inclusion of non-European airlines in the bloc's emissions trading scheme.

The China Aviation Transportation Association (Cata) will act on behalf of the airlines, according to director of markets Zhu Qingyu.

"Cata will assist Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines to jointly sue the European commission for including non-member countries' airlines in the EU ETS," Zhu told Point Carbon News.

Cata wrote a letter in protest to the EU commission earlier this month using the same arguments as the Air Transportation Association of America (ATA) and three of its member companies -- American Airlines, Continental, and United Airlines.

That lawsuit claims the European plan to include flights to and from Europe in its emissions trading scheme from 1 January 2012 breaches US sovereignty, and is contrary to provisions in the Kyoto protocol.

The Chinese airlines will join the US lawsuit instead of filing their own case in order to save time, Zhu said.

"We will not exclude any possible measures to protect China's airline companies' benefit," he added.

Cata is hoping the Chinese government will take up the matter directly with the EU commission, and says it will urge policymakers in Beijing to take "corresponding measures" against the EU.

The EU on 7 March set a cap of 212.9 million CO2 permits for airlines when they join the EU ETS in 2012, but total demand for permits could cost the sector between $1-3 billion a year, according to analysts.

In the meantime, European airlines fear they could be disadvantaged in their own market if aircraft from outside the EU can fly to and from Europe without paying the cost of their carbon emissions.


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## fieldsofdreams

Big bump...

This thread will be revived as a union of multiple EU-related threads on aviation developments to become...

*EASA | EU Aviation Regulations and Policies*

since the EU is a powerful regulator of aviation policies, and it deserves to have its own space restored in this forum.


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## hkskyline

*EU aviation safety body to set up pilots' medical database by end 2016*
_Excerpt_ 

BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Europe's aviation safety regulator aims to set up a medical database for pilots by December 2016 following the Germanwings crash earlier this year, it said on Tuesday.

The European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) comments were in response to recommendations from a task force, which in July called for improved psychological screening of new pilots and a European database with details of medical visits.

A young pilot barricaded himself inside the cockpit and crashed a jet operated by Germanwings, part of Lufthansa , into the Alps in March, killing all 150 people on board.

Prosecutors have found evidence that Andreas Lubitz, who had suffered severe depression and may have feared losing his job, had researched suicide methods and concealed an illness from his employer, sparking a debate on supervision and medical secrecy.

As things stand, pilots can get specialist check-ups in any member state where the doctor has been certified by EASA. The database is intended to avoid "medical tourism", or going abroad to get a favourable certificate for a pilot's licence.

EASA said the database will facilitate the sharing of medical information while respecting pilots' privacy. But it conceded an obstacle would be the different national approaches to data protection, which are not within its remit.


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