NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010MARCH/APRIL 2014
News TAXATION
Treasury “isolated” over APD
THE FAIR TAX ON FLYING campaign has submitted evidence to Chancellor George Osborne ahead of this year’s budget, citing the damage the current level of Air Passenger Duty (APD) is doing to the industry. In its submission, the campaign group points to “mounting evidence” illustrating the negative impact APD is having and is calling for a “macro-economic review” of the effects of the tax. The campaign group, which picked up the Outstanding
Achievement Award at this year’s Business Travel Awards, said the Treasury is looking “increasingly isolated” on the issue of air passenger taxes. “We believe strongly that increases in three of the four APD bands ... are making the UK economy increasingly uncompetitive,” the group’s submission said. “Since we last wrote [to Osborne] ahead of last year’s Autumn Statement, the Scottish National Party has called for a 50 per cent reduction in APD, should they secure independence, with a view to scrapping the tax in the longer-term. Elsewhere, ITM’s annual Industry Outlook polled more than 100 of its buyer members and found more than 90 per cent believe APD is ‘too high’ (see more from the ITM report, Databank, p18). ■ Fair Tax on Flying – see guest column, p116
DISTRIBUTION
TRAVELPORT TO SELL ECONOMY PLUS SEATING
TRAVELPORT-CONNECTED AGENTS in the US can now sell United Airlines Economy Plus extra-legroom seating, the distribution services provider has announced today. Travelport becomes the first GDS to re-launch the capability for
travel agents to sell the additional space and comfort of Economy Plus. United Airlines said it’s working closely with Travelport to improve its ability to sell ancillary products like Economy Plus. Travelport also said its agents now have the ability to access Economy Plus seat availability and prices within the agent workflow, as well as book complimentary Economy Plus seats for qualified Mileage Plus customers. ■ For more technology sector stories, see Tech Talk, p24
TMCs Survey reveals strong TMC growth 12 1
BUSINESS TRAVEL is set to go from “strength to strength” in 2014 as confidence continues to grow in the sector, according to a survey published by the GTMC. Results from GTMC’s final
Quarterly Transaction Survey of 2013 revealed sales among
TMCs grew by 7 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2012. This outweighs UK GDP figures for the same quarter, which saw the economy record 0.7 per cent growth, the GTMC said. ■ For more on the GTMC survey, see Databank, p18
IN CONVERSATION… Giovanni Bisignani
Buying Business Travel digital editor Tom Newcombe talks to the former director general and CEO of IATA Giovanni Bisignani
sometimes it’s bigger than the fare, which is wrong.
What's the best option to improve
UK airport capacity? The UK, rightly or wrongly, has an over-reliance on the
In your book, Shaking the Skies, you claim to
have transformed the fortunes of IATA. What was your biggest achievement as head of the organisation? I arrived at IATA one week after 9/11, and I set about transforming it into a profitable organisation, relevant to smaller airlines as well as the big boys. In 2004 I started the ‘Simplifying the Business’ initiative – this programme converted the industry to e-ticketing and bar-coded boarding passes. E-ticketing is something business travellers now take for granted, but it wasn’t that long ago a passenger would have to book their tickets over the phone, or in person with a travel agent, and even wait for the tickets to be posted to them.
What’s your view on rising Air Passenger
Duty (APD) costs for the UK? It’s a pity a country that has been so innovative in the industry has a
government that doesn’t treat aviation with the care and attention it deserves. I remember discussing the issue of APD with the previous British government, and I tried to delay the process, but now the current lot are not taking care of this issue at all. You only have to look at the tickets to see the level of tax –
City of London to drive the UK economy, and the City relies heavily on connectivity with Heathrow. However, the level of connectivity at Heathrow is incredibly low compared to many parts of the world, and so a third runway is essential to improve this. This won’t be the cheapest or most environmentally-friendly option, but the only one for the future health of UK aviation.
Do you see New Distribution Capability
(NDC) as a positive move? NDC has been something IATA has been discussing for
several years and we are now finally seeing it put into action. I feel it will help the industry and should be seen as a positive move. However, one of the biggest risks to many in the industry is Google moving into travel distribution, and I know Facebook are thinking of doing this as well. So if these giants are entering distribution, you run the risk of a ticket becoming a commodity, and if this happens, then the airlines are in trouble.
What do you see as the biggest challenges
for the aviation industry over the next few years? One of the biggest challenges affecting the industry at the moment
is cargo. There are also the ongoing environmental worries and the issue of managing aviation’s carbon footprint. If I was in IATA now, I would be slightly concerned about the industry’s goal of being carbon-neutral by 2020.
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