Aviation Intelligence Reporter – October 2013
State Aid and Airports: Pork Barrel Meets Sausage Machine
Parliament to Airlines: Bring Credible Data, or Else
European ANSP Consolidation: Not Never; But Not Now
Business Aviation and Its Never-Ending Image Problem
ANSP Performance: Both Past and Future Tense
The Slot Rule: Cementing Power in the Hands of the Incumbent
ATM Conferences: All Roads Lead to Beijing?
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click hereState Aid and Airports: Pork Barrel Meets Sausage Machine
When the lingua franca of Europe was Latin, commentators remarked on just how complex Europe was to govern. Nothing has changed. However, today the lingua franca is Commission bureaucratese. Of all the complex bits of European governance, one of the most complex and difficult to explain has to be the prohibition on State Aid. No other country, or region, has rules that prohibit State Aid. Indeed, most countries look at ways to hand out largesse. Every trade association has entire departments devoted to begging for State Aid or distributing it once it arrives.
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Parliament to Airlines: Bring Credible Data, or Else
The first law of dealing with the European Parliament is, ‘Bring credible data.’ Overloaded, under-informed, and inclined towards suspicion if not outright paranoia, members of the European Parliament often lack the resources to write coherent legislation. As a result, European Parliament proposals are frequently based on poor information and are overly detailed. A case in point is the Parliament’s recommendations for revision of Airline Passenger Rights (Regulation 261) released in early September and due for a Transport Committee vote on 14 November.
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European ANSP Consolidation: Not Never; But Not Now
One of the few ANSPs in the world that has been privatised, UK’s NATS, had a taste of life in the private equity lane this summer. One of its shareholders wanted to sell its shares. That meant a market for the shares had to be created. The shareholder, Lufthansa, which owned the shares as a result of its acquisition of bmi British Midlands, thought that it had better things to do with its money.
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Business Aviation and Its Never-Ending Image Problem
Thomas Flohr is a journalist´s dream when it comes to writing about private jets. He is not to be seen without the ubiquitous uniform of the jet-setting tycoon – blazer, starched white shirt, fashionable jeans, sunglasses, stubble and his signature mane of hair. It helps that the feeling is mutual. Flohr rarely misses a chance to update the media on his flourishing jet business, Vista Jet.
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ANSP Performance: Both Past and Future Tense
The European Commission launched the new SES 2+ package onto the waiting world in early summer. Within minutes, the French, supported by the Germans, wrote that this was moving too fast; proving that the French can do some things quickly, just not reform. We covered this at the time, in our July edition. It seems that when resistance is called for, the French can be relied upon. A fully-fledged resistance movement is underway.
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The Slot Rule: Cementing Power in the Hands of the Incumbent
The purpose of the law is to cement power into the hands of the rich. In aviation we get closest to this with the slot regulations. In this case, the ‘haves’ are the incumbents at any slot constrained airport. The ‘have nots’ have no say. Remarkably, it is the ‘have-even-lesses’ that have to pay for the riches the haves have. If you think that fanciful, consider the London airports, and in particular Heathrow and Gatwick last year.
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ATM Conferences: All Roads Lead to Beijing?
The battle for ATM conference supremacy turned again in September. UBM, the commercial conference and exhibition provider that organised ATC Global in Amsterdam, announced that it was not staging that event next year. A victory for CANSO, which organises the World ATM Congress, in Madrid, you might think.
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