Aviation Intelligence Reporter May 2023
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Air Transport Regulation: From Protectionism to Liberalism – And Back
By Dr Barry Humphries CBE FRAeS
The modern air transport industry grew out of a row between those who wanted a relatively free open market and those who sought much tighter government control. Neither side fully got their way, but in practice, the difference between them was relative rather than ideological, and the end result was a conservative regulatory regime with which everyone could live. What emerged was an industry completely fettered by economic regulation, with mostly State-owned scheduled airlines, an unhealthily close relationship between carriers and governments, little if any real competition and a focus on producer rather than consumer interests.
Interoperability: The Cuckoo in the Nest
Since about 1944, the aviation industry has clung to interoperability like a drowning person clings to flotsam. The Chicago Convention, having created a nationality-based system then required technical interoperability to make it work. Without it, the narrative goes, the industry would lurch into, into, what, exactly? A place where there is a plethora of bespoke systems? Oh wait… A place where competition might be possible? An outcome devoutly to be desired, frankly. No, apparently, we need interoperability because without it, the current system would be fragmented and irredeemable and anyway, getting rid of interoperability will see the current system disrupted and that would be… would be, bad?
SAFs: Do We See RED or Are We Nearly There?
There is a lot going on in Brussels at the moment, particularly if you are interested in aviation sustainability. We have had trilogues and votes and final approvals for a number of dossiers on the agenda. They have been generating enough hot air to sustain a fleet of balloons for some years. The number of free carbon certificates and SAF allowances airlines can use have been agreed. The discussion of what can go into the taxonomy for ‘green’ investment for aviation has expanded to include the purchase and leasing of new aircraft – much to the consternation of the environmental movement – and the biggest part of the aviation contribution to Fit for 55 has also been settled, at least until final approval. We used to think that was a formality.
Tapering Demand for Demand Control
The sustainability debate is not going away. If anything, it is heating up. The Financial Times has thrown its hat into the ring, advocating some sort of demand control as the only viable means to reduce emissions from aviation. The article quotes an airline executive, unnamed, who concedes that might be the only way to reduce emissions. The FT is not some tofu-eating, greenie, lefty, tree-huggers’ chronicle. Maybe it is time to pay attention. But demand control is easier said than done. The worst sort of demand control is that imposed from outside, but getting consensus on what we can do from within is not going to be easy. Or to put that in clearer English: will be impossible.
The Tragedy of Henrik Caesar: (with apologies to Shakespeare)
Our play opens with Rome’s two tribunes, Climus and E4FCea listening to the crowd welcome home brave general Henrik Caesar from another successful campaign, this time to the province of Persia Minor.
What’s in a Name? A Sustainable Holiday Would Smell as Sustainable
The history of trademarks is fascinating. They date back to ancient Egypt, at least, and have performed the same task ever since, giving an assurance of quality, and provenance. They have been attached to products and increasingly, services, for a long time. They are an assurance of trust. The recognition of brands like Apple, or BMW, or Thomas Cook makes our lives easier. Ask the French what they think of a claim by Budweiser claiming the ‘champagne of beer’. Amongst the most influential brands in travel and tourism is currently Booking.com. Created in 2005 in the Netherlands, it established itself as a leader in travel booking. Booking.com now books around 1.5 million rooms every 24 hours, or over half-a-billion rooms per year.