Archive for the ‘Birmingham airport’ CategoryComtel Air is increasing the number of flights it operates between Birmingham Airport and Amritsar. The airline, which only began operating flights between the two destinations on 1 October 2011, has had so much interest in its service that it plans to increase its twice-weekly services (Saturdays and Sundays) in the near future. Flights are operated with a Boeing 757-200 aircraft and make a short stop in Vienna before flying to Amritsar. Thomas Kopetzky, Director Ground Operations for Comtel Air, said, “We knew there was demand for more flights to India from Birmingham due to the large Asian community living in the Midlands and we thought that we’d eventually have to put on more flights but we never imagined we’d have to make this decision so soon after launching the first service. It just goes to show that people want to use their local airport to visit their friends and relatives out in India rather than travelling to London.”
Regional airports and airlines have renewed their call on the Chancellor to reduce Air Passenger Duty (APD) on flights from all UK airports outside of London. The move follows the Chancellor’s decision to reduce APD on long haul flights from Northern Ireland, in recognition of the harmful effect the tax was having on air services. In a joint letter to the Chancellor, twelve airports and airlines called for urgent action to support the economic growth and development of the UK regions. The letter states: “Regional airports and airlines have a lower percentage of business travellers or inbound tourists than the London airports, and have been hit hard by economic downturn. That’s not just bad news for our businesses. It’s bad for jobs, bad for inward investment and bad for wealth creation in the UK regions. If the Government is serious about truly rebalancing the economy, then decisive action is needed on behalf of the 86 million passengers that fly from our airports.” Andrew Strong, Managing Director, Flybe UK said, “Flybe welcomes the Chancellor’s acknowledgement that air services from the UK’s regions are impacted by the high price of Air Passenger Duty (APD) and we look forward to the Treasury expanding these plans so that other lifeline regional routes, including domestic lifeline routes, may receive a differential rate of APD. It is nothing short of scandalous that domestic passengers should be hit not once but twice by this tax unlike overseas-bound travellers who only pay once.” Air Passenger Duty was introduced in 1994 and doubled in 2007. Manchester Airport’s passenger traffic peaked in that year at 22 million passengers but since then the fall in the regions has been almost double the fall in London. London airports are down 9% on the 2007 peak (127m in 2010, down from 139m in 2007) while regional airports have felt a bigger impact, down 17% on the 2007 peak (86m in 2010, down from 103m in 2007). Jonathan Bailey, External Affairs Director for the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), said: “We are delighted that the Chancellor has recognised the detrimental effect air passenger duty (APD) is having on UK aviation but disappointed that only Belfast’s plight has been noted. Action must be taken to address the disproportionate impact of APD in the regions outside London and the South East, as well as Northern Ireland. Every European country that has removed its equivalent of APD has duly felt the benefits and we are all aware of the difficult economic situation and how our economies need a boost. Aviation could provide it and we hope that the government will have the same foresight for other regions.” Dave Laws, Chief Executive at Newcastle Airport, said: “If the Government can pull out all the stops to protect an air link serving Northern Ireland, then it can do the same for the North East. We have said before that APD should be abolished or reduced significantly across the whole country. “Any differentiation based upon geographical criteria, which appears to be the case with the Northern Ireland proposal, would be unfair and possibly illegal under EU State Aid Regulations. Also, where would it end? Would Scotland and Wales also be successful in arguing special circumstances? A much fairer, and probably legal, approach would be to give all regional airports a stimulus by varying the rate of APD between congested and non-congested airports, thereby protecting the interests of all disadvantaged regions.” Earlier this year, MAG, Newcastle Airport and Flybe were involved in the ‘Fair Tax on Flying’ campaign and joined an alliance of more than 25 airlines, airports, tour operators, destinations and trade associations who were uniting to call on the Government to make the system of aviation tax in the UK fairer. That helped to raise awareness of the current system amongst UK travellers and saw the issue of a regionalised system of tax being mentioned in the Treasury’s subsequent consultation on the current system. To see a copy of the letter click here.
Consultant Martin Hill brings 30 years’ experience as an air traffic controller and supervisor at the London Air Traffic Control centre to Gama. He is now in situ at the company’s Farnborough Airport HQ and is advising Gama’s operations and charter teams as they communicate to clients about their air travel to London coinciding with next year’s big event. Gama’s Director of Client Relations Trevor Jones was participating as a panellist at BGAD 2011’s Practicalities of the Olympics Panel at Cambridge Airport on Tuesday, 20th September. “We are advising our customers and charter brokers to book their slots early in order to avoid disappointment. For international clients coming to London between 21 July and 15 August we urge them to contact us as soon as possible so we can make the slot applications accordingly. This is because there will be capacity constraints in the airspace over the London area, affecting a total of 40 airports in the South of the UK.” Slots will be required for all flights arriving or departing the London area during the period from 21st July to 15th August 2012, inclusive – this covers the Olympic Games only, there are no extra slot restrictions for the Paralympic Games. Flights will also be subjected to security screening, even at small airports/airfields. Martin Hill explains: “Slots will be issued on a first come, first served basis and where the requested slot time is not available, the closest match will be offered as an alternative. Airports will be charging a non-refundable fee for the booking of the slots, which will be added to the cost of the flight, and in some cases, requiring payment of landing and handling fees in advance.” Gama is advising its clients and charter brokers that once a slot is issued, changing the time of the flight will invalidate that original slot. There will be no guarantee that a slot will be available for the revised time, on the day concerned. If the slot is not adhered to the flight will not be able to depart until a new slot time is granted, which could be many hours away. The slot system is now operational to take bookings at Farnborough Airport, and will become active at other London area airports over the coming months. The following airports, all subject to slot co-ordination, have confirmed their available capacity and effective September 5th it is possible to make a reservation at those highlighted in bold: Slot co-ordinated airports during the period of the Olympics
The following airports are yet to confirm their capacity so slot bookings are not yet available:
* slot reservations available 30th November 2011 ** slot reservations available 1st February 2012 *** slot reservations available as soon as capacity determined The Air Travel Advisory Bureau (ATAB) is teaming up with law firm Barker Gillette to launch a coordinated legal claim against UK airlines that have not refunded Air Passenger Duty (APD) to passengers who have booked flights and not flown. Since the tax was introduced in 1994, ATAB estimates that consumers have lost out on millions of pounds in un-refunded APD. In fact, Which? Estimated that in 2003 alone Ryanair retained more than £5 million in un-refunded taxes. ATAB Chairman, Tony White said, “It is a scandal that some airlines hang on to this money. It never belonged to them. It’s a tax collected on the behalf of the Government. With a couple of exceptions, most of the UK airlines make it as difficult as possible to get your money back. If you don’t actually fly, for whatever reason, you are entitled to get the APD refunded. The airlines already have your credit card details, they should refund your card immediately. They make it difficult or expensive in the hope that you’ll go away – and most people do just that”. “It is truly shocking, we’ve found some airlines that will charge an “administration fee” greater than the value of the refund. This is a complete rip-off and it’s our intention to put an end to it. If you have booked an airline ticket out of the UK anytime since 1994, and not flown, then we want to hear from you” said White. For more information in reclaiming APD on unused flights visit www.atab.org.uk/action-now/reclaim-your-taxes/ A campaign to persuade the Chancellor to drop planned hikes in the tax levied on all flights leaving the UK was launched last Monday at airports across the country as a new poll is released showing 3 out of 4 people think that Air Passenger Duty (APD) should not go up in the next Budget. Of those saying APD should not go up 49 per cent said APD should be reduced. Only 6 per cent said APD should be increased. The Chancellor announced in this year’s Budget that APD will rise by double inflation in 2012. The ‘Hands off our Holiday’ campaign, backed by the Airport Operators Association (AOA), Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR-UK), and the British Air Transport Association (BATA) is urging people to email their MP via the website www.handsoffourholiday.com and to tweet their support for the hikes to be abandoned using the hashtag #handsoffourhols. The poll, carried out by Opinium Research for the Hands off our Holiday campaign also shows that nearly 4 out of 5 people were unaware of the plans to further increase the tax by double inflation. Commenting on the campaign, Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the AOA, said: “Our message to the Chancellor is that enough is enough. Air Passenger Duty has already gone up by 325% on long haul flights and 140% on short haul flights in the last five years. Family finances are under great pressure at the moment and most people save hard all year for their holiday. Working families deserve a break.” Mike Carrivick, Chief Executive of BAR-UK, added: “The UK already has the highest rate of flight tax in the world. Why should families be discriminated against for wanting to fly off on a hard-earned break once a year?” Simon Buck, Chief Executive of BATA said: “The government already takes nearly £3bn in tax from passengers. This is more than the tax on the banking industry. Most people simply aren’t aware how much flight tax they pay. The government should come clean about this stealth tax and drop the hikes planned for next year.”
A planned strike by UK Border Agency staff is likely to affect passengers arriving at some of the UK airports. The 24-hour strike is scheduled to start this evening, Wednesday 29 June 2011 – start times vary at different airports due to shift patterns. The Border Agency has issued the following advice to passengers arriving in the UK: Around 70% of Border Agency staff are members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).
As the Treasury’s consultation on the reform of Air Passenger Duty (APD) enters its final week – ends on 17 June – ABTA is calling on the government to rethink the levels and structure of the tax which is the highest in the world. APD is based on distance travelled and at present a family of four flying to Europe will pay £48 in APD, to the USA the tax increases to £240, to Australia the tax increases to £340 – all based on the economy rate – however, the cost of the tax is set to rise again next April by twice the cost of inflation. Only five European countries impose some form of aviation tax with the UK’s level higher than anywhere else in the world. Denmark, Norway, Malta and Holland have all scrapped similar taxes as the revenue raised was outweighed by the damage caused to their economies. Ireland has pledged to follow suit shortly. ABTA is part of the Fair Tax on Flying www.facebook.com/afairtaxonflying alliance that has united the travel industry to raise awareness of the high levels and illogical structure of APD, which is damaging UK travel and tourism and adding an additional tax burden to holidaymakers and business travellers at a time when fuel prices are reaching record levels. Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive, said: “It is vital that the Government understands the damaging impact that APD is having on the tourism industry in the UK. We already pay the highest levels of aviation tax in the world, and if the Government goes ahead with its double-inflationary increase and levies an ETS tax on top of this in 2012, we will see another eye-watering increase in the tax burden on the industry and on holidaymakers and business travellers flying in and out of the UK. The industry is willing to pay its way, but this clearly puts us at a competitive disadvantage when compared with our European neighbours and punishes the travelling public unfairly.” ABTA encourages all of its Members and any others who feel strongly to make their own submissions to the treasury at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_airpassenger.htm Related stories: Manchester Airport launches ‘give us a break’ APD campaign UK Airport Consultative Committee: APD and European Emissions’ Trading Scheme = double taxation Double taxation on flights from 2012 A recent survey of 154 MPs has shown that more than two thirds did not know about the double taxation that airport passengers are facing in 2012. The survey, conducted by ComRes and Airport Operators Association (AOA), found that majority of the MPs were unfamiliar with the UK aviation industry’s planned entry into the EU Emissions Trading scheme (EU ETS) in 2012. This additional tax, coupled with a substantial increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) next year, will mean that air passengers face double taxation on flights. Of those MPs who did know about the additional tax caused by the introduction of the EU ETS, 63% believe that APD should be reduced or abolished. Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: “The ComRes / AOA survey shows that the majority of MPs do not know that air passengers will face onerous double taxation on flights from 2012. It is shocking that our policy-makers are unaware that holidaymakers and business people will be paying a new cost on flying – the EU Emissions Trading Scheme – as well as even more APD, already the highest in the world. “Of those MPs who do actually know what is going on, more than 60% support the reduction or scrapping of APD to encourage economic growth by ensuring that passengers do not face a further tax rise in what are already tough economic times for everybody.” Andrew Hawkins, Chairman of ComRes added: “Fuel duty in one form or another has long proved a toxic issue politically and the impact of the ETS should not be ignored by politicians. It is notable that of MPs who are aware of it, the majority view is to ameliorate its impact by varying Air Passenger Duty. The ETS issue has all the hallmarks of a powerfully dangerous political mix.”
All Continental flights operated with Boeing 757-200 aircraft now feature new flat-bed seats in BusinessFirst. This marks the second major milestone in the installation of 180-degree flat-bed seats throughout Continental’s international fleet. Continental completed the retrofit on its 22 Boeing 777s in December 2010. Continental operates 41 Boeing 757-200 aircraft, flying principally between its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Europe – including Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London Heathrow.
Flybe is celebrating having once again outperformed many other major industry suppliers (defined as those operating over 25,000 flights a year from CAA reporting airports) for its on-time arrival performance during 2010. The airline achieved an 81% on-time ranking for its reported sample 112,042 flights – this achievement against such well-known names such as Aer Lingus, BMI British Midland, British Airways, easyJet, Lufthansa, Monarch Airlines, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways. The statistics feature in the recently published Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) 2010 On-Time Performance Report that analyses airline performance from arrival and departure data provided by 10 UK reporting airports – Birmingham, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, Glasgow, London Heathrow*, London City*, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Stansted* (*Flybe does not operate out of these airports) A total of 95 airlines featured in the Report, ten of which operated more than 25,000 flights in their reported sample. Of these, Flybe came out top for on-time performance ranking ahead of Ryanair, bmi baby and easyJet with an average delay over the 12 month period of 13.3 minutes, compared against the named carriers’ 13.7, 18.0 and 24.9 minute delays respectively. Last year, Flybe hit the global aviation world by being the only UK airline featured amongst the Top 10 carriers in the influential US-published Forbes magazine’s 2009 World’s Most On-Time Airlines’ list, compiled from the 2009 Global Major Carrier Arrival Performance Report, finishing ahead of carriers such as Air France, British Airways, Continental, Air Canada and Iberia. The Report ranked global carriers across US airports and 48 other of the world’s busiest airports. |
