Aviation Intelligence Reporter – August 2019
Regulation in a Shifting World: Can the Centre Hold?
The Airport Charges Directive – What the Press Releases Do Not Say
Talking to the Taxman about the Business of Freedom
Hail SESAR Deployment! Quo Vadis?
Back to the Futurism
Tiny Air Italy puts Entire US Aviation Industry at Risk
Aviation Intelligence Reporter Crossword 011
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Regulation in a Shifting World: Can the Centre Hold?
When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail. That is why regulators inevitably think that the solution to any problem is simple: more regulation. But can somebody, anybody, explain why airlines love regulation so much? Why is it that any opportunity to put their faith in the market, to welcome competition, to stop aviation being the world’s oldest infant industry, is immediately met with squeals of pain, the putting of the wagons in a circle and a demand for more and increasingly draconian regulation? We have previously noted that there is a psychology PhD waiting for an analysis of this complaint. Mind you, any researcher would need a good insurance policy – knee jerk injury is a huge risk. Any suggestion of liberalisation of any part of the market other than their own sees spontaneous spasms and wails to match those of the widows of Cannae.
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The Airport Charges Directive – What the Press Releases Do Not Say
In July, the EU Commission’s release of its Evaluation of the 2009 Airport Charging Directive saw the spin-machine dial wound all the way up to ‘Fever Pitch’. According to A4E, ‘European Commission Report Confirms Stronger Regulation of Powerful Airports Would Benefit European Passengers by Preventing Monopoly Abuse’. IATA thundered with ‘Stronger Regulation of Powerful Airports Needed to Protect Consumers.’ Wow. Either the Evaluation does not bode well for the state of competitiveness amongst Europe’s airports or the airline association’s press releases show industrial strength cherry-picking. For those of you intending to read the Evaluation – spoiler alert! – the answer is cherry-picking. The A4E claims that ‘…the report states that “competition remains limited for some, in particular large airports, resulting in significant market power of these airports vis-à-vis airlines” which can set excessive charges.’ Clearly egregious behaviour on the part of airports, if that were all the Evaluation said.
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Talking to the Taxman about the Business of Freedom
Summertime, and, normally, the livin’ is easy. Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high… but this year, for much of Europe and the USA, it is not so much summer time as heatwave time. Climate change and tax were the last items discussed before full summer hit. Once, the airlines could have hoped that the all purpose general summer lethargy, long and well-earned holidays, and change at the top of the European Commission and the Parliament would mean that all this pre-summer, hot-headed talk about taxation in aviation would fade. ‘Ignoring it’ is two words longer than the combined IATA and ATAG communications plan on this topic. Instead, the two words ’tax’ and ‘airlines’ are being baked into the front of mind. This year, ignoring it is not working. So any minute now it will be time for the brains trust at ATAG to move to DefCon1 and unleash the Three-Prong Strategy. Oh yes, things are getting that bad.
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Hail SESAR Deployment! Quo Vadis?
It has not been a good couple of months for the SESAR Deployment Manager. First, the Wise Persons Group recommended that much of its functions be transferred to a new Infrastructure Manager, under the auspices of Eurocontrol’s Network Manager. Then the European Court of Auditors issued a report that was less than completely complimentary. It found that much of the money that the SDM had allocated to ensure that new SESAR approved technologies were deployed and adopted was not necessary. As far as the auditors are concerned, this equipment would have been installed in any event, so there was no need for European funds to make it happen.
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Back to the Futurism
Marx noted that history repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce. What hope does that give us about futurism? No, not that branch of tea-leaf reading that involves quality PowerPoint presentations and general statements of the future; but that love of all that the future and its technology can produce. It has a rich and complex history, and here it comes again. We can only hope that it is more farcical than its first iteration. Why, you may be asking, is the Aviation Intelligence Reporter talking about these things? Because aviation is intimately involved.
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Tiny Air Italy puts Entire US Aviation Industry at Risk
From the outside, you would be forgiven for thinking that US aviation was in rude good health. The oligopoly has delivered more than a decade of profits and compliant passengers prepared to continue to pay for terrible service. But do not be fooled. According to one of their own industry associations – admittedly an Astroturf one, the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies – this entire edifice is extremely fragile. According to it, allowing Air Italy to operate a handful of services to the US will see every single person in US aviation lose their jobs. More than a million jobs are at risk. Right. It should be noted at this point that the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies is not the sort of body that lets truth get in the way of their narrative. Still, 1.2 million jobs… etc.
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