Aviation Intelligence Reporter November 2026
Ownership and Control: Back to the Future, or Forward to the Past?
Why Ownership and Control Matters Somebody
Has Got to Talk About Slots, Baby Non-Tickets,
Non-Agents and Multimodal Bookings ATM Safety Regulation: Is it a Crack in the Wallpaper or the Wall?
ATM Safety Regulation: Postscript, Post Spain
Eurocontrol: Nominations at the Ready?
To read the full report please login first.
Do you want to become a member?
Ownership and Control: Back to the Future, or Forward to the Past?
Please excuse the mixing of metaphors, the mixing of timelines and the mixing of vibes,
but what the hell is going on? Are we in a time warp? Is this a jump to the left and then
a step to the right? Or maybe it is as Gramsci predicted: this is the time of monsters.
The old world is dying, and the new world is struggling to be born. And what monster is
this? The best may lack all conviction, but there can be no doubt that the worst are full
of passionate intensity. Passionate intensity, you say? It is passionate intensity you
want? Step forward the European Network Airlines Association. They are full of it.
Why Ownership and Control Matters
You might think there are few topics more arcane than ownership and control. You
might think that, but you would be wrong. The terms of who owns what, and to what
extent that means who controls what you do, is real. And, with financial implications.
Yet, ironically, despite Air France/KLM being at the vanguard of campaigning against
Ryanair’s new share structure [above], it is Air France/KLM that is having its wrists
slapped and its wallet raided in the US on what are, in fact, related grounds. Obviously,
the operations department, the legal department and the Brussels lobbying department
are separate entities, which in the great tradition of airlines, do not talk to each other.
The fact that the Brussels government affairs operation is headed up by a man named
Camus is merely a fascinating comic coincidence for those of a literary bent.
Somebody Has Got to Talk About Slots, Baby
If the slot regime was to fall in a forest, would anyone notice? If slots were reformed in a
forest, would anybody care? If slot reform was mooted by a university, would anybody
comment? If a proposal to move away from slots altogether, to different, more modern
economic models was mooted, would anybody read it? If slots were reformed at a major
airport, would anyone be able to explain it? Deep philosophical questions, you will
agree. But that seems to be where we are. Slots and slot reform are not on the table,
despite being on the menu. Or is it the other way around? Slot reform is on the menu,
just not on the table. Nobody seems to have the appetite for it.
Non-Tickets, Non-Agents and Multimodal Bookings
By Marie Masserey – Principle Consultant, MMC
If you are in aviation, you know that things get complicated faster than most mortals
would expect. A flight is not a flight, a slot is not a slot, an operating carrier is not an
operating carrier; it all depends on the context. Airlines made headway in making
agents disappear when they scrapped agent commissions in the late 1990s. But a ticket
not being a ticket? That is bound to make some headlines. Spoiler alert: this article is
not about IATA’s New Distribution Capability, Modern Airline Retailing, or the industry’s
move to Offers and Orders. Although it could be. Never mind the terminology, the
questions remain the same.
ATM Safety Regulation: Is it a Crack in the Wallpaper, or the Wall?
We are seeing a rise in ATM safety issues around the world. It is an article of faith in
ATM that regulation should be separate from operation. It may be time to look at the
regulators. We have long noted that you get the regulators you deserve. How well is
risk managed at the governance level? Governments and regulators are notorious for
resisting change, but failure to respond to change is also a risk. Nowhere is immune to
the types of accidents and serious incidents that have occurred in the US and Australia
recently. We must use these to avoid incidents that should not have occurred.
ATM Safety Regulation: Postscript, Post Spain
The issues above were thrown into stark relief by the tragic rail accident in Spain at the
end of October. Our condolences go out to all affected by the crash and our admiration
goes out to the rescue teams. Good safety systems learn from others and this is a real
learning opportunity. The Spanish rail system has spent some time and resources
upgrading its traffic management systems.
Eurocontrol: Nominations at the Ready?
The five-year term for the current DG of Eurocontrol, Spain’s Raúl Medina, ends at the
end of next year, 2027. You might think that there is plenty of time to run before that
becomes an issue; that this is something we can safely put off until next year. After all,
Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, has given three months’
notice of her departure. But this is Eurocontrol. Not so fast.