Aviation Intelligence Reporter June 2024
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Competing Views on European Airline Competition
We noted last month that DG COMP, the competition Directorate General, whilst praising itself on twenty years of self-assessed excellence had to admit that when it came to aviation, and telecoms, it was disappointed with what had, or had not, been achieved. That message was reinforced by the report from former Italian PM Enrico Letta. Never ones to miss an opportunity to grab the wrong end of the stick, our Astroturf friends at the Europeans four Fair Competition weighed in. They dispatched the teams of finely tuned ninja that are the Lufthansa and Air France lobbying departments, acting though their usual proxies, (and other reliable voices off) to knock on the doors of their respective national governments. It is to be hoped that there is a ‘take a number’ system in place, because, clearly, not just airlines, but all sorts of putative national champions had the same thought.
Greenwashing: Branding Meets Camouflage
The capacity for the airlines to be shocked, shocked, by what has been very clearly written on the wall, in quite large print, never ceases to amaze. Last month, it was the announcement by the Commission that it was looking into the airlines’ claims of their commitment to, and love for, sustainability, that caused uproar. It was not like this had not been signalled for some time. Years, in fact. We reported, in late 2022, about ‘Brandalism’ attacks from environmental campaigners who literally did put the writing on the wall by mocking airline billboard advertisements. Right there, on the wall. Biblical references not all that helpful for airline marketing experts, obviously. Since then, environmental groups have had success in litigations in The Netherlands, for example. Also In the UK. Oh, wait, in Germany as well.
Europe’s ANSPs go Back to the Future, Again
The ANSPs have justified their fierce resistance to change, to merger and restructure, to taking that huge leap into 1995, on the back of the language of Article 28 of the Chicago Convention. Article 28 is, apparently, holy writ, unable to be questioned or amended in any way shape or form. This is what the US far right and the ratbag wing of the US Supreme Court would call originalism, or black letter textual analysis. Nothing but the words themselves can carry meaning. In the context of Article 28, that ‘undertakes […] to provide, in it is territory, airports, radio services, meteorological services and other air navigation facilities’ which are the exact words of the article, must mean that the State itself must provide these services. At least it must for the Justice Alitos of the ANSP world. They are all Alitos in ATM. But, unfortunately, they cannot read.
Do Junk Fees Make Junk Laws?
In a remarkable outbreak of civility and bipartisanship, the US Congress agreed to reauthorise (and thus finance) the FAA for a further five years. Congress people like to fly. They also like to promote their work in those rare moments of cooperation. The final Act authorised US$105 billion for the five years 2024-2028. But, as ever, the final Act is best described, ironically, as an omnibus piece of legislation. All known interest groups demanded their particular concerns be addressed. So, the funds come with a series of obligations and requirements for the FAA to achieve. These range from hiring practices (the unions had a strong voice) and in particular hiring and training controllers (the airlines had a strong voice on that one), aviation safety, technology, particularly drones and uncrewed systems, new restrictions on off-shoring maintenance (US mechanics are better, and safer, than any other mechanics, apparently) and increased transparency and fairness for passenger rights.
Dutch Take Measured U-Turn to Measured Approach at Schiphol
By Bastiaan de Bruijne – EU Aviation Advisory
On Friday, 24 May 2024 the Dutch Government published an additional consultation proposal on the Balanced Approach for Schiphol Airport. This is expected to be the last chance airlines and residents will have to influence the process. The proposed measures amend the package as notified to the European Commission on 1 September 2023. The then caretaker government had announced it would continue pursuing a capacity reduction from the existing cap of 500,000 aircraft movements to 452,500 movements following a so-called Balanced Approach procedure – despite fierce political and legal debate. The initial plans had been announced in June 2022 in the Schiphol Outline Letter, taking the environmental impact of the maximum of 440,000 aircraft movements as the upper limit for future airport noise regulations (to solve enforcement issues with existing rules).
Booking.com Reserves a Place at the Grown Ups’ Table
Europe is trying to stay in front of the digital revolution that surrounds us. For instance, in mid-May, the Council approved the Artificial Intelligence Act, which tries to put some structure around the regulation of AI. Interestingly, for aviation it does that by acknowledging that it will be someone else’s problem; specifically, a problem for EASA. To be fair, the Council, and the Act, take the view that there is little to be gained in a horizontal piece of regulation like this from putting additional hands on the levers if there is already a body charged with taking a vertical role in things like safety, that will in any event need to oversee how AI may impact operations.