COMMENT: Heathrow and the third runway problem

It stares us in our faces.  The solution to the Heathrow third runway problem, or T6.

Northolt.

Or to give it the official title, RAF Northolt.

Read on.  It is not the solution you expect. 

Our remedy may surprise you after Friday's High Court judgement.  It was certainly not a victory for the anti-Heathow protesters as the BBC attempted to indicate.  Transport Minister Lord Adonis came out fighting, stressing that the judgement did not rule out a new runway, but called for a review "of all the relevant policy issues, including the impact of climate change policy."

Back in 1946 Northolt was Europe’s busiest commercial airport.  With the emergence of Heathrow the then British European Airways (BEA) moved out in 1954.  It became the RAF’s air transport (communications) gateway for London.

Today its serves two purposes.  Firstly as the landlord for various military administrative organisations, secondly as an operational airport, eight in the morning until eight in the evening with very limited weekend use, run in air traffic terms by the Royal Air Force, and used by the Royal Squadron, RAF communications flights, plus other military wings including overseas visitors.  An executive jet base is hosted by London City Airport.

Three big problems.  It is a very expensive operation to run, however it is disguised; the locals do not like it as it is in the middle of a built-up area; thirdly there is a legal limit of 7,000 civil movements.  In 2009 there were 5,905 civil and 6,980 military movements according to a Parliamentary written reply.  RAF Northolt is not approved under the PETS scheme nor does it have the facilities to process animals.

For the most part the Royal Air Force operates elderly jets that do not meet modern noise regulations.  The military is not above the law and these aircraft should be replaced.

Our solution for the Heathrow third runway problem is to close Northolt!  Leave the non-flying activities where they are, and move the nearly 15,000 movements to Heathrow’s third runway.  

Of course the Air Marshals would shout.  They might even involve Prince Philip.

But think of the benefits.

The Royal Air Force gain a 24/7 operation, the executive jets better connectivity with long haul flights, and the tens of thousands living around the airport will be delighted with its closure.  The land can be sold for housing.  Whether the money goes to the RAF or the Exchequer the government can sort out.  Or perhaps towards the new Heathrow facility.

The Conservative Party, embarrassed by its anti-third runway policy, could support the move without admitting a mistake!  For whatever reasons the party has forgotten that the nation depends on Heathrow for commerce and is the reason for this country’s unique position as the hub for the world (and for jobs too).  Do we want to lose this position to Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Paris (or even Dubai)?

Currently Heathrow is limited to 480,000 moments on two runways.  A Government policy decision in 2009 limits the three runways to 605,000 movements in 2020 and 702,000 in 2030.

As a trade-off BAA could be generous and offer the RAF and its client operators a generous 20,000 movements at current rates plus inflation.  That would still leave over 100,000 movements for commercial operations in 2020.  Executive operations (10%) and airline services mix happily at London City.  In any event the RAF could move some movements to Brize Norton and for the real VIPs surely they would prefer a purpose-built facility at Heathrow. 

AERBT believes Northolt should be closed and the old (noisy) jets need to be banned.

Malcolm Ginsberg

Editor in Chief

See also AERBT 11 January

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Baggage losses down

SITA, the aviation IT specialist owned by the carriers themselves, has reported a drop of 23.8% in the number of air passengers' bags mishandled last year, resulting in savings of US$460m by the world's airlines.  This is the second consecutive year that the industry has brought down significantly the number of bags mishandled worldwide.  Last year there were 25m bags mishandled, out of 2.2bn passengers, a figure that is more than 40% (or 17.4m bags) down on the 2007 numbers.  SITA, operates WorldTracer, the industry-standard, fully-automated system for tracing mishandled passenger baggage used by more than 440 airlines and ground-handling companies worldwide.  The statistics show that half the bags go missing during aircraft transfers, 16% fail to load, and 13% are due to ticketing and security issues.  Whilst the arrival airport normally gets the blame this is attributed to only 3% of errors. www.sita.aero

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Continental plans for 787 introduction

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES plans to take delivery of four Boeing 787s in the third quarter of 2011 and two more in the fourth quarter, becoming the first airline, other than lead carrier ANA, to be positive with its introduction dates.  In a US Securities and Exchange filing last week it confirmed 11 of the Dash 8s (long haul) and 14 Dash 9s (a larger version with further extended range).  The aircraft will arrive fitted with the new BusinessFirst interior and are likely to be initially used on the highly competitive Newark to Heathrow route, probably ahead of the introduction by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic of the same aircraft. www.continental.com 

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Gulf Air is 60 years old

GULF AIR has celebrated 60 years of operation making it by far the oldest airline in the region.  CEO Samer Majali was in a positive mood at an event to commemorate the airline’s achievements over the years.  He noted that despite the economic downturn that affected almost all business sectors, particularly air travel, Gulf Air carried around 5.7m, a slight growth.  The Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) also showed a better performance by registering a 2.1% increase.  The overall flight punctuality has also reached 82.5% during the year registering an increase of 12.5% over 2008.  Technical Dispatch Reliability has reached 98.1%, well above the industry norms.  Gulf Air’s first aircraft was a de Havilland Dove.  To celebrate its 50th anniversary Air Atlantique flew a Dove in Gulf colours to Bahrain.  The same aircraft is embarking on a UK airport pleasure flight tour details of which can be found on the Air Atlantique website. www.gulfair.com

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Marriott set for European expansion

MARRIOTT plans to double its portfolio in Europe by 2015.  Amy McPherson, President and Managing Director of Marriott International Europe, made the announcement at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin.  Marriott has been in Europe for 35 years and is now represented by 174 hotels.  Seven of Marriott’s 18 brands are in Europe: Ritz-Carlton, Bvlgari, JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments. In addition, the first European Residence Inn, an extended-stay brand, will open in Munich in 2012.  The development pipeline includes nearly 30 projects including the Renaissance Moscow Monarch Center Hotel (2010), the Courtyard by Marriott Budapest (2010) and the JW Marriott Hotel Ankara (2010). www.marriott.com

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Open Skies 2010

EUROPEAN AIRLINES could soon be able to take majority control of US carriers and also bid for American government contracts following a deal struck on last Thursday (25 March).  However any real change will hinge on approval by the US Congress, a far from certain prospect.  The new agreement confirms that the 2007 ‘Open Skies’ agreement will remain in place indefinitely.  It also increases US-EU co-operation in aviation security, safety, competition, and ease of travel and provides greater protections for American carriers from local restrictions on night flights at European airports.  Essentially airlines can fly between any EU city and any US city.  The fly in the ointment is that United States limits foreign ownership of US airlines to 25%, which is due to change if Congress approves the measures.  United Airlines has backed the move and Continental says it is in favour of liberalisation. http://europa.eu

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Southend gets the go-ahead

SOUTHEND AIRPORT’S expansion plans have been approved by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.  This involves a 300m extension of the runway to the south west and is alongside the railway station (direct to London’s Liverpool Street) and control tower which are already under construction and the proposed new terminal and hotel.  The railway station should open in summer 2010, the control tower spring 2011 and the runway works – which involve a new ILS – fourth quarter 2011.  Alastair Welch, Managing Director of Southend Airport, said: “This development will make a significant contribution to increasing the attractiveness and prosperity of the south Essex area for businesses, which experts believe will have a positive effect on house and commercial property prices.  Southend will also now be able to showcase what it does best in time for the 2012 Olympics.” www.flysouthend2012.com

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ON TOUR: Business Aviation

RAF Northolt is London’s oldest airport with Croydon and Hendon gone and Gatwick somewhat moved and upgraded.  Its use for the second BA - Meet-Up, the official title for the business aviation networking conference, set the mind thinking  (Read COMMENT above). 

Non-military movements at Northolt are restricted to just 7,000 per year.  That target was pretty much reached this year, according to Darren Grover, Chief Operating Officer at London City Airport, which provides ground handling services for all the arriving and departing executive jets. 

The airport’s education centre proved a hospitable venue for some 120 business aviation delegates for two and a half days of presentations and inter-active discussions. 

ExecuJet’s Andrew Hoy highlighted the big growth market for buyers of business jets was China, but infrastructure and investment in maintenance facilities was desperately needed in preparation because aircraft “need love on the ground too”! in an aside regarding the important role that FBO and MRO organisations play to support business aviation.  

“It is encouraging,” he said, “that 150 of the 400 airports in the country are now open to non-scheduled traffic.  ExecuJet is now out-selling more pre-owned jets than new by ten to one,” he noted, “and interest is especially strong from Asia.  India too is an emerging market, alongside the USA.  Once the biggest market for business jets, North America was hit hardest by the recession, so I daringly put North America and Canada into that category too, now the market is starting to lift.”

Ronald Goodliffe from the Cayman aircraft registry noted there had been a marked increase in aircraft registration applications from the Middle East, balanced by a significant drop in requests from the Americas.

Hot topics of discussion were education, training and standardisation for FBO services, including a call for cabin service representatives who fly on private jet aircraft as ‘cabin servers’ to be safety trained.  Currently there are no regulations (on either sides of the pond) for aircraft under 19-seats to have a qualified cabin attendant.  That role is provided by the First Officer.  But do clients who charter know that?  It does seem that the quickly forgotten Varsity Express flew with a stewardess, whilst probably competent, was not part of the legal crew.

Corporate jet training is very different from commercial airline training, opined Susan Friedenburg, a firm advocate of specific industry training.  She runs Corporate Flight Attendant training courses in the US and works with FlightSafety to provide the safety training.   

Graham Stephenson, who has enjoyed 51 years in aviation, 23 of them in the business aviation fraternity, most recently as Head of FBOs at ExecuJet, announced an innovative online training course available from June through London Metropolitan University that can be used by FBO staff anywhere in the world. 

 “People joining the FBO world from the hotel and hospitality industry are going to be daunted in the first few months with all the industry jargon, special language and procedures and this course, who also addresses air law, flight planning, principles of flight, mass and balance, and aircraft performance, will help enormously,” he said. 

During BA Meet-Up Stephenson was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his dedication and devotion to business aviation.

BA Meet-Up, created by Cdr Bud Slabbaert, is to become an annual fixture for industry professionals.  Next year’s event will focus on training, education and information provision.  A change of name might help and save confusion!

www.ba-meetup.com

Alison Chambers 

alison@emeraldmedia.co.uk   www.emeraldmedia.co.uk

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