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MPs attack Thames Estuary airport proposals

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Prime Minister David Cameron has received a letter from members of his own party asking him not to go ahead with a feasibility study into the construction of a Thames Estuary airport. Ministers claim that as well as causing misery for the people who live in the vicinity, any airport built in the area would cause massive environmental damage.

Mr Cameron had previously said that the government was not considering the plans which have the support of London’s Mayor Boris Johnson. However, it seems that he has had a change of heart by announcing that there will be an official examination of the proposition.

The Prime Minister has already got a number of ministers’ backs up by approving plans for a high speed rail link to Birmingham from London. Anti-HS2 campaigners say that the project will destroy large swathes of the English countryside and that the £33 billion it is estimated it will cost should be put into other transport projects.

There are two proposed sites for the new airport, either on reclaimed land or on the Isle of Grain. The MPs said that the project is not supported by the public or the aviation industry and should therefore be scrapped.

Although it is widely admitted that the south east is facing airport capacity problems, it seems that the government is currently struggling to come up with any viable solution to the problem.

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Government announces hydrogen car initiative

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

The government has announced plans to make cars powered by hydrogen a viable alternative to petrol-powered vehicles in the UK. The first cars with fuel cells could be on the roads within the next three years.

The UKH2Mobility initiative is being backed by 13 companies including a number of car manufacturers. Business Minister Mark Prisk said electric vehicles which run off hydrogen cells were being recognised as a viable option for a future of low carbon motoring. He added that industry experts would be brought together to make the UK a major player in the use and manufacture of hydrogen fuel vehicles.

The task force is currently looking at how much investment will be needed to create an infrastructure for refuelling which will make hydrogen power attractive to the consumer.

Chief executive of Toyota Motor Europe, Didier Leroy, said a charging infrastructure would have to be set up before 2015 when the company intends to roll out its first hydrogen vehicles. Head of vehicle design and development at Nissan, Jerry Hardcastle, said that he believed hydrogen-powered vehicles could represent an important part of the car market in the UK over the next few years.

The project will also be considering how the electric cars can be used to boost the country’s economy and create jobs. The cars are powered by mixing air with hydrogen which will be kept in a tank in the vehicle. This then creates the electricity which is used to turn the wheels.

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VisitScotland unveils new commercial

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

A new television advert has been unveiled by VisitScotland to kick-off the start of a celebration of Scotland’s creativity and culture, which will last for the rest of the year. A £4 million campaign, called the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, has been launched with the intention of attracting visitors from around the globe.

The commercial features the voice of Neill Oliver, the television historian, and images including the Northern Lights, a performance of Macbeth, Robbie Burns story telling and fireworks over Edinburgh.

According to VsitScotland, the tourist industry last year brought in around £90 million to the country’s economy. Mike Cantlay, chairman of the tourism body, said the coming year was going to be very exciting for tourism in Scotland. He added that the new television advert was stunning, and that it would serve to show millions of viewers what the country has to offer.

The spot has been directed by David Eustace, a Scottish born photographer. It is due to go on air on televisions and in cinemas from 13 January. It has already been shown to invited guests at Edinburgh Castle. Among those who saw it was MSP Fiona Hyslop, the Culture Secretary, who said on of the greatest strengths Scotland has is its culture.

She added that 2012 was going to be a year in which Scotland would highlight to visitors new ways in which they can visit every corner of the country. The commercial is due to run on screens across the UK until March.

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Airlines hike ticket prices in wake of European emissions scheme

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Following the introduction of strict rules on aircraft carbon emissions within the European Union, two of the world’s largest airlines have announced that they will be increasing fares. The regulations apply to all planes landing or taking off from European airports, and mean airlines will now have to purchase certificates to compensate for the greenhouse gasses they produce.

America’s Delta Air Lines said that passengers who wish to fly to Europe will now have to pay an extra $6 on a round trip. Lufthansa has said that it too intends to hand on the cost of the emissions charges to passengers, but has not yet announced how much ticket prices will rise by.

The German carrier predicted that it would have to purchase 35 per cent of the certificates that it needs. The estimation is based on recent growth and past emissions, and will cost Lufthansa in the region of 130 million euros over the course of this year. Lufthansa is the second largest European carrier in terms of passenger traffic behind Air France-KLM. It is the world’s fifth largest.

Delta Air Lines is the second largest carrier in the world behind United. At the end of last year a group of Canadian and US airlines petitioned Europe’s highest court over the new emission rules claiming that they were contrary to international law. They were not successful.

A number of countries including India and China have said that if the rules continue to affect their airlines there could be retaliation in the form of similar charges being applied to European carriers entering their airspace.

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EU carbon tax could spark international retaliation

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

The International Air Travel Association has predicted that a tax on airline carbon emissions set to be introduced by the European Union in January could cost the airline industry 900 million euros in 2012. The tax has been condemned by foreign governments claiming that it goes against international legislation.

There are growing fears that the new charges for all airlines entering or leaving the EU could result in a trade war. In September, a group of countries got together to condemn the decision by Brussels, and some have threatened to introduce taxes of their own in retaliation.

Hilary Clinton, America’s Secretary of State, and Ray LaHood, the US Transport Secretary, told the EU that Washington would have to take appropriate action if it pushes through with its intention. The European Court of Justice last week ignored a petition by a group if Canadian and US airlines.

Any carrier refusing to submit to the taxation could find that it is no longer allowed to operate in Europe and will be fined heavily. China has said that it may retaliate by cancelling lucrative orders for planes with Airbus. Russia said it was considering imposing a charge on any European carrier entering its airspace. India has threatened to come up with its own form of taxation.

The introduction of the carbon emission tax is likely to result in an increase in ticket prices which could force many to seek alternative forms of transport. IATA predicts that by 2020 the tax could cost international carriers as much as 2.8 billion euros every year.

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Air France signs maintenance contracts with Libyan airlines

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Air France-KLM has confirmed that it has agreed a contract with Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah Airways to undertake repairs on planes which were damaged in the recent uprisings to overthrow Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

According to Air France, a contract which was signed in 2008 between Afriqiyah and the maintenance and engineering arm of Air France-KLM would resume after it was suspended for a period of 12 months during the unrest. The contract involves the maintenance and repair of the carrier’s fleet of Airbus 320s and 330s.

Libyan Airlines has entered into a five-year deal with Air France which will see the airline look after seven Airbus 320s. Libyan is still waiting to take delivery of three of the jets from the European planemaker.

In a statement, Air France said it was committed to helping both Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah Airways get their fleets safely back into service and that this included aircraft which had been damaged during the recent months of fighting in Libya.

According to Pierre Lellouche, the French trade minister who was on a visit to the capital Tripoli recently, Airbus has also resumed negotiations with Libya to deliver aircraft now that Gaddafi was out of the picture. Currently, the airlines have back orders with Airbus which at list prices are worth in the region of $4 billion. Air France has also said that when the required operational and safety conditions are met, it will be resuming suspended services between Paris and Tripoli. A number of other European carriers have already started to fly to Libya again after airspace over the country was reopened.

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Premier Inn experiences slowdown in sales growth

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Premier Inn owner Whitbread has so far shown remarkable resilience to the economic downturn. Leisure and business travellers have been turning to the Premier brand and its affordable rooms, and Costa Coffee has also performed extremely well. However, this week, the firm said that it was noticing a marked slowdown in business, and has blamed an uncertain economic outlook.

Andy Harrison, Whitbread’s chief executive, said a struggling economy had caused a fall in sales growth. The firm is now looking to attract customers to its pubs and restaurants by offering cut-price deals on meals. The company runs brands including Beefeater and Brewers Fayre.

The reported downturn in growth comes as a new paper is published by Mary Portas, a retail consultant, into the state of the UK’s high streets. The report claims that they have hit crisis point, and that by 2014 retail spending on the high street will have dipped below 40 per cent. Portas said that around a third were already failing or degenerating.

Go-Ahead, the bus and rail operator, said that it results were positive, and that it expected to publish higher than expected annual revenues as people forgo the cost of running a vehicle and opt for cheaper public transport. David Brown, the firm’s chief executive, said that public transport was generally quite resistant during times of economic uncertainty as customers realise the financial benefits of using a bus or train over a car.

Although consumer confidence was seen to rise a little in November, it is still hovering around a two-year low.

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Richard Branson to bid for west coast train route

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has promised to give passengers superior service on the west coast line between London and Glasgow if Virgin Trains wins the 14-year contact to run the route from the government. He added that it was important that the government did not repeat the mistake it made by awarding the east coast contract to the highest bidder.

In 2007, National Express won the east coast franchise by outbidding Virgin with a £1.4 billion offer. However, not two years later, the firm had to surrender the contract because it could not keep up with its contractual obligations.

Stagecoach group boss, Sir Brian Souter, whose firm has a 49 per cent stake in Virgin Trains, said if the company had won the bid it would have improved services between London and Edinburgh. Other companies in the running for the Glasgow route are French owned Keolis, and Dutch backed Abellio.

Sir Richard has warned the government to look at all criteria, not just how much money it would receive from the contract. He said that history proved that state backed operators often provided a poorer service. The billionaire added that the Virgin bid would be a late Christmas present for the Exchequer at a time when the UK was in need of investment.

Sir Richard said that he was waiting for the government to outline the requirements of the bidding process, but said that if Virgin were to be given the contract, passengers would see some dramatic improvements to services.

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Transport congestion expected during Olympic Games

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Next years Olympic Games are likely to cause significant congestion at tube stations according to Transport for London. The body said that passengers at some stations could be standing in queue for up to half-an-hour before being able to get on to a train. Peter Hendy, London’s transport commissioner, said that some of the worst hotspots would require a 60 per cent reduction in traffic if congestion was to be avoided.

On the busiest days during the games, around 3 million extra passengers are expected to use the network. This will be on top of the 12 million trips which are made daily by travellers. TfL said that around two-thirds of Docklands Light Railway and tube stations should not feel the effects.

Mr Hendy is hoping that by releasing details of where the most congestion is likely to happen will help to dispel many of the rumours about how severe the problems will be during the 2012 games.

The transport body has been working with businesses in the capital to come up with solutions to overcrowding on the transport network, including staggering the times at which workers are required at their desks. However, it did admit that such solutions would not prevent some level of overcrowding.

During the period of the games, passengers are being asked to consider using less busy stations and avoid hotspots such as Bank, Bond Street and Canary Wharf. Train and tube services have been extended during the event, with more trains running for extended periods.

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RAC report shows increasing cost of owning a car

Thursday, November 24th, 2011

Since last year, the average cost of owning a car has shot up by around 14 per cent, the RAC claims in a recent study. The paper shows that the biggest single contributing factor is the price of filling a tank. Over the past year, the cost of putting petrol into a car has shot up by 13.8 per cent to 134.78 pence per litre. The price of diesel has also increased to 140.49 pence per litre from 122 pence, a rise of 15.16 per cent.

Since 2010, the average cost of filling a car has increased by £160. The RAC said that this fact was increasing the burden on already cash strapped middle class families. The organisation is now calling on the government to take action, and reduce the price at the pumps.

Adrian Tink, a spokesperson for the RAC, said the index showed just how much drivers were being penalised at the pumps. Another factor is the rising cost of insuring a car. Because of an increase in insurance fraud, the number of uninsured drivers on the roads, and more people making claims for personal injuries, firms have pushed up the cost by around 14 per cent. The price of annual cover now hovers around £550.

Owning a car now costs Brits close to £7,000 per year.

In 2009, taking out an insurance policy was 35 per cent cheaper than it is today. The tide has to be stemmed, said Mr Tink.

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