AVIATION industry leaders, including airline chief executives and airport operators, who gathered in Qatar last month for the Doha Aviation Summit, delivered a strong message to governments on taxation and liberalisation.
Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Yap Ong Heng, speaking on ‘shaping the future of aviation’ said: “In the past year the aviation industry has had to face many challenges from fuel prices to safety and the economy.”
Heng called on governments to embrace liberalisation, which relies on competition rather than regulation to deliver efficient aviation services, citing the example of Singapore which has witnessed a 90-per-cent growth on one single route since it introduced liberalisation.
“Singapore’s government has taken the broad view that the long term benefits of liberalisation take precedence. It allows the market to respond and it has served us well.”
He added that while states, particularly in the Middle East are investing heavily in airports, what is needed is increased liberalisation which will lead to seamless skies.
Abdul Wahab Teffaha, secretary general of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation pointed out that the other aspect of liberalisation to consider is that of ownership which would lead to consolidation controlling capacity.
He said the recent move to a single aviation market in Europe has led to gains and warned that if the Arabic airlines do not follow suit they could lose out.
Throughout the three-day event, which took place at the W Hotel Doha, there were several attacks on government taxation with Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker saying the industry must speak in one voice on fuel taxation.
Al-Baker added: “When the fuel price increases, the airline industry will have no choice but to levy surcharges on passengers, but in the current circumstances this would not be a good thing to do.
The British Government’s recent introduction of the airport duty tax also came under fire.
Several airline chief executives put forward the idea that airports should reduce their charges to aid the industry through the tough financial period.
Dr Sani Sener, president and CEO of Turkey’s TAV Airports, said: “Airports and airlines are all part of the same thing, there are ways to look at constructive negotiation.”
But others pointed out that the airlines themselves are frequently overstaffed.
In a debate – low-cost carrier versus legacy airlines – Jazeera’s Stefan Pichler and Peter Hill of Oman Air found much common ground with Pichler’s earlier assertion that ‘in these days we are all budget airlines’ seeming to prove true.
However Pichler pointed out that one of the areas in which non-budget airlines have the edge over their legacy counterparts is in staffing – Jazeera has around 60 staff per plane whereas some airlines are operating, at a loss, with more than 180.
The environment was another issue which came under close scrutiny with the final day dedicated to the greening of the aviation industry and, while it was pointed out that newer fuel efficient aircraft do reduce emissions, delegates were reminded that the industry, in fact, only produces around two per cent of the world’s emissions.