Aviation Intelligence Reporter December 2011-January 2012


The fight over overflight charges. No, not EU vs Russia: ICAO vs WTO
The SES Santa. He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice…
Business aviation 2011: Even low clouds have silver linings
The Cape Town Convention – Now you can see it from Space
The US and Europe – Two great continents, divided, commonly…
UMVs, Unmanned Metro Vehicles, arrive but where is the outrage?
Who can follow SESAR?
Gatwick: Ignores ICAO Charging Guidelines, makes profit – Shock!
I am the ETS Plan-I-am


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The fight over overflight charges. No, not EU vs Russia: ICAO vs WTO

For as long as anyone can remember, first the USSR and then its successor in title, Russia, has charged airlines a licence for overflying their territory. Russia is not the only country to charge for overflight. Overflight charges are supposed to go towards providing the air traffic control and other services that the airlines need.

The SES Santa. He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice…

The start of 2012 is nearly upon us. Very nearly upon us. That may not sound all that earth-shattering as news, but it is ominous if you are Siim Kallas, the vice president of the Commission responsible for Transport. Mr Kallas has staked his tenure at DG MOVE on getting the Single European Sky (SES) into place. He must be praying for Santa to bring him a back-dated calendar for Christmas.

Business aviation 2011: Even low clouds have silver linings

Twelve months ago 2011 was expected to see a cautious recovery in the business aviation sector. Order books were expected to stabilise as the recession bottomed out. We should be set for a rebound in the business cycle by now, with 2012 growth trailing general economic recovery on its standard 12-18 month lag. But, as we know, debt crises in the US and Europe – still home to more than 75% of business aviation activity – put paid to any rising tide for the industry’s boats. With several of the major OECD economies forecast to dip back into recession in 2012, the way ahead for business aviation is murky at best.

The Cape Town Convention – Now you can see it from Space

One of the most remarkable international agreements of our times is the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. Driven by the aviation industry, the Convention puts to shame every other attempt by the industry and its regulators to add value to the international air transport industry. Would the fact that it was not transport regulators but finance department regulators that drove the negotiation and ratification of the Convention be relevant to its stunning success?

The US and Europe – Two great continents, divided, commonly…

Nobody knows who first said England and America are divided by a common language. It was attributed to George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde in the late 1880s and to Winston Churchill in the 1940s. Many other wits trotted out the line in between. Notably though, it is only on one side of the Atlantic that this is an issue, or that the quote is dragged out. The Americans just don’t seem to care.

UMVs, Unmanned Metro Vehicles, arrive but where is the outrage?

Aircraft are separated by a distance of three nautical miles as they approach airports, and five nautical miles when en-route. These figures are immutable. Do you know why? Because that is what it has always been. Really.

Who can follow SESAR?

SESAR, the first European Commission Public Private Partnership, the poster boy of community lead ATM technology development, is getting nearer to the moment when it has done all that it was set up to do. That moment is not here, but it is no longer out of sight. Bar an industrial-sized attack of mission creep, SESAR will need to start thinking about the end game soon.

Gatwick: Ignores ICAO Charging Guidelines, makes profit – Shock!

In case you needed convincing that competition produces innovation and better outcomes for consumers, look no further than London. After the ownership of London’s main airports was forced by regulatory fiat to be more diverse, in the hope that it would be more competitive, we have had a live experiment about how airports can compete and drive innovation.

I am the ETS Plan-I-am