BA says more Americans will book flights to the UK

More people will book flights from the US to the UK as Americans look to take advantage of the favourable exchange rate, according to British Airways (BA).

A spokesman from the UK's flagship carrier said that it was now cheaper for Americans to fly to Britain because of the fall in air traffic between the two countries.

"From the American point of view, it is cheaper now to come to the UK than it has been in the last few years," he said.

"You may start to see a slight change and you may start to see more traffic coming the other way now."

The spokesman added that the reason for a decline in traffic - between New York and London in particular - was the ongoing financial crisis and the downturn of the economy.

According to BA traffic and capacity statistics published last month, the number of people flying to the US has fallen by 7.6 percent since November 2007, from 604,000 to 558,000.

Source: Reuters

UK air traffic falls the most in 7 years as economy slows

BAA Limited, owner of London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, said air traffic in the UK fell the most in seven years as the contracting economy dampened demand for air travel.

Passenger numbers at BAA's seven airports in Britain dropped for an eighth straight month, tumbling 8.9 per cent to 9.8 million travellers in November from 10.8 million a year earlier, the London-based company said Friday in a statement.

The decline was the biggest since November 2001, when people avoided flying following the September 11 attacks in the US.

The International Air Transport Association, the airline industry's main trade organisation, estimates that international and domestic passenger traffic will decline 3 per cent next year, the first drop since 2001.

Carriers including British Airways Plc, Heathrow's biggest user, are cutting capacity as they struggle with waning demand.

"Airport traffic trends are set to get worse as the economic crisis bites and airline capacity cuts are implemented," Andrew Fitchie, a London-based analyst at Collins Stewart, said in a research report. "For this reason, we believe the outlook will deteriorate at BAA."

Grupo Ferrovial SA, the Spanish construction company that owns BAA, fell as much as 8.7 per cent to 20.45 euros (Dh75.1) on Friday.

The stock has fallen 57 per cent this year, valuing the Madrid based builder at 2.91 billion euros (10.7 billion).

Fraport AG's Frankfurt airport, Europe's third-busiest, and Flughafen Wien AG's Vienna International airport both reported traffic declines in November that were the biggest since December 2001.

National Air Traffic Services, the agency overseeing UK airspace, said that the number of flights entering, leaving or flying over the country fell 9.8 per cent from a year earlier to 169,539 in November.
BAA's traffic declines were led by its three London airports.

Source: Bloomberg

UK Environment secretary Hilary Benn criticises Heathrow plans

The government should ditch plans to expand Heathrow if pollution levels are not dramatically cut, Environment Minister Hilary Benn told The Sunday Times.

A controversial government decision on building a third runway at Heathrow, the world's biggest international passenger air hub, has been delayed until next month as ministers continue to thrash out the pros and cons.

The issue has sparked strong opinions, pitting business groups and airlines against environmental organisations and local residents.

In an expression of apparent concern about the impact of a third runway, Benn said he was "determined" to honour commitments to meet environmental pledges.

Benn said Heathrow already breached European Union limits on air pollution but its opt-outs on those directives run out by 2015, by which time Britain has pleged to get emissions below the limits.

"We have to achieve the environmental objectives. We have to honour that commitment and I am determined that we will," Benn told the weekly broadsheet.

"We have a problem with nitrogen dioxide around Heathrow, principally the road traffic, some of it is the aircraft."

Benn was sceptical about arguments that "green" technological improvements to air transport would allow Heathrow to meet the EU limits in time while expanding capacity.

"Obviously, there is technological change affecting airports, but, come what may, we will come to a point in 2011 with particulates and 2015 with nitrogen dioxide when we will have to be meeting the terms of the directives.

"That is regardless of whether the decision has been taken," to expand Heathrow, he said.

Benn said there would be serious consequences if Britain failed to meet the EU pollution limits.

"You are then in trouble with the (European) Commission, you get infraction proceedings and then off you go -- which is not something we can contemplate," he said.

The government had pledged to reach a decision on expansion of Heathrow by the end of this year.

In 2003 the government published a draft outline of legislation supporting expansion of the airport and has maintained its backing for building a third runway.

The opening of Heathrow's new Terminal 5 in March was dogged with problems and was branded a "national embarrassment" in a report by lawmakers last month.

Some lawmakers are worried that unless Heathrow expands its capacity then international business will head to more convenient European destinations.

Sourse: AFP - Agence France-Presse