IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged the governments of the world to reach an agreement on a global framework to manage international aviation’s emissions at the 37th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“The biggest challenge for this Assembly is to reach an agreement on a global solution to manage emissions from international aviation. A united aviation industry of airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, manufacturers and general aviation has made ambitious commitments to cap and eventually cut its emissions. To be successful, governments must endorse these commitments in a globally agreed framework,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO, to a group of delegates attending the ICAO Assembly in Montreal.

The aviation industry is united behind three targets: (1) a 1.5% average annual improvement in fuel efficiency to 2020, (2) capping net emissions from 2020 with carbon-neutral growth and (3) cutting emission in half by 2050 compared to 2005. “No other industrial sector has made such ambitious global commitments. Even UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon commended the aviation industry as a role model for other industries to follow,” said Bisignani.

Bisignani highlighted several key elements which could help facilitate global consensus:

* Place and Process: The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres, confirmed that ICAO is the forum for dealing with emissions from international aviation and that any agreement at ICAO would not, in any way, impact the position of any state on non-aviation issues discussed in the UNFCCC process.
* Developing Nations: Even within a global agreement, ICAO has a track record of accommodating the needs of developing states. For example, ICAO’s global framework for noise reduction included extended timelines for developing states.
* Growth: The industry’s global solution will facilitate growth and the economic benefits it brings even while reducing emissions. This will be achieved through the industry’s four- pillar strategy of investments in technology, more efficient infrastructure, more effective operations and globally coordinated positive economic measures.

“Major blockers are being removed. The industry is ready. And most governments agree that a global framework is needed. There are still some hurdles to overcome, but we are moving in the right direction,” said Bisignani who noted that important regional groupings and individual states have indicated their wish for an agreement.

The planned inclusion of aviation into the European emissions trading scheme in 2012 has helped to focus governments on the urgency of a global solution. “If this Assembly ends without an agreement, the next opportunity is 2013. In the meantime the industry would be faced with a growing patchwork of conflicting and overlapping measures. For example, against global opposition, Europe would have to try to move forward with its unilateral emissions trading scheme,” said Bisignani.

“No government or industry player will want to face the consequences of such a development. It would lead to a breakdown of the global standards on which global aviation was built, a patchwork of uncoordinated taxes and schemes, strained bilateral relations and serious challenges on sovereignty issues,” said Bisignani.

“The livelihoods of 32 million people and $3.5 trillion in economic activity depend on the success of global aviation. As leaders, everyone attending this Assembly has a great responsibility to continue building a safe, secure, efficient and sustainable future for this wonderful industry. The industry is committed to supporting governments in reaching agreement on a responsible solution for aviation and the environment. I am optimistic that we will be successful,” said Bisignani.

The ICAO Assembly will discuss environmental issues in its Executive Committee on Thursday 30 September with conclusions to be reported by the Assembly’s conclusion on 8 October.

IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), along with three governmental aviation safety organizations, today signed an agreement to launch the Global Safety Information Exchange. Creating a comprehensive global information exchange to improve safety is the most ambitious private/public safety partnership in aviation history.

IATA, together with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the US Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Commission of the European Union (EC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create the framework and path forward to launch the Global Safety Information Exchange. The MOU signing took place following the opening session of the ICAO Assembly and was signed by IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani, ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin, US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, and EU Vice President Siim Kallas.

“Air is the safest way to travel. We achieved this level of safety precisely because governments and industry have cooperated transparently to identify risks and implement solutions. Today’s agreement takes the long history of cooperation to a new level by tearing down silos around the data that we have and sharpening our focus on the greatest risks to aviation safety,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

“We have a long history of working together with governments using global standards to lower the accident rate. In 1945, there were 9 million passengers and 247 fatalities. In 2009, 2.3 billion people flew with 685 fatalities. Every fatality is a human tragedy and reminds us that we must do better. Today’s agreement signals a new era of multilateral cooperation between industry and government to make the skies safer,” said Bisignani.

The four organizations will start their cooperation by selecting the safety information each group currently collects, which would be the most relevant to the goal of improving safety by risk reduction. IATA will make the largest contribution of airline data by providing de-identified information from the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program. This will include de-identified information from the 345 airlines that are on the IOSA registry (230 IATA members and 115 non-members).  IOSA sets the standard of safety for airlines and aggregated IOSA audit information will complement audit information from the other partners in developing global safety priorities.

A steering group will be formed and will have representatives from each of the four organizations.  ICAO will act as the coordinator of the information exchange.

The 2009 global accident rate, measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jet aircraft, was 0.71. Through the first six months of 2010, the accident rate was 0.64. Compared to 10 years ago, the accident rate has been cut 36% from the 1.11 rate recorded in 2000.

IATA Trainings in India

TRAVEL AND TOURISM TRAINING IN INDIA

IATA Training and Development Institute

* The leading provider of global aviation training solutions and professional development program, supporting and promoting industry standards worldwide
o Committed to the development of human capital for tomorrow’s air transport industry
* Professional and vocational programs in eight areas of study:

o   Safety , o   Security, o    Management, o    Regulation & Compliance, o    Organization & Human Performance , o    Operations & Infrastructure, o    Travel & Tourism, o    Aviation Studies

* IATA certification is recognized by :
o Tourism boards and government agencies
o Airlines
o Airports
o Hotels
o Travel agencies, consolidators, and tour operators
o Airline back offices
o Cruise and rail lines
o Cargo agencies
o Logistic companies

ITDI In India

* 29 classroom courses are scheduled for delivery in Delhi this year
o Courses ranging from advanced management and marketing courses to safety and finance
* 2010 priority is to meet the increasing demand for in-company training

IATA International Travel and Tourism Training Program

* More than 50,000 students in India between 2000 and 2009
* Offers diploma and certificate vocational training
* Provides qualifications and skills to meet the requirements of IATA Travel Agency Accreditation Program, which requires accredited travel agents to employ a minimum number of qualified and skilled staff
* Regular updates of the training content ensure that participants are kept current in their knowledge and skills
* IATA certification is globally recognized and transportable, allowing successful participants the opportunity to secure employment within the tourism, aviation, cargo, or airport sectors, at home and abroad

Methods of Study

* IATA Authorised Training Centers (ATC)
o A network of 60 private vocational centers in India, accounting for over 80% of Travel and Tourism students
o Many located near Mumbai, Delhi and Cochin
o There are plans to expand the network of ATC to Tamil Nadu, Rajastan and central Indian states
o There are minimum standards to be met before a training centre can qualify as an ATC
* Distance learning courses
o provides students the flexibility of learning at their own pace and  place
* Online training solutions – IATA BSP Essentials for Travel Agents
o New e-learning course to prepare travel agents and accounting staff to interact with the IATA BSP system
+ Understand and use BSP methodology
+ Efficiency at using the BSP system
+ Correct reporting errors
+ Interpret BSP billing reports in order to plan the agency’s business

Future Plans

* IATA is pursuing recognition by the Indian government for IATA courses and training qualifications

IATA

IATA Blasts Europe’s Handling of the Volcanic Ash Crisis

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on European governments and air navigation service providers to urgently develop more precise procedures to identify ash contaminated air space and allow more flights. The call came in the wake of 1,000 flight cancellations on Monday (17 May) as a result of the continued volcanic eruptions in Iceland.

“This problem is not going away any time soon. The current European-wide system to decide on airspace closures is not working. We welcome the operational refinements made by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in their theoretical model but we are still basically relying on one-dimensional information to make decisions on a four-dimensional problem. The result is the unnecessary closure of airspace. Safety is always our number one priority. But we must make decisions based on facts, not on uncorroborated theoretical models,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Bisignani noted some successful exceptions which provide examples to follow. “France has been able to safely keep its airspace open by enhancing the VAAC data with operational expertise to more precisely determine safe fly zones. Today, the UK Civil Aviation, working with the UK NATS (the air navigation service provider), announced another step forward by working with airlines and manufacturers to more accurately define tolerance levels while taking into account special operational procedures. Both are examples for other European governments to follow,” said Bisignani.

Bisignani called for (1) more robust data collection and analysis (2) a change in the decision making process and (3) urgency in addressing the issues.

Data Collection and Analysis : “Numbers show that the current system is flawed. Over 200,000 flights have operated in European airspace identified by the VAAC as having the potential presence of ash. Not one aircraft has reported significant ash presence and this is verified by post-flight aircraft and engine inspections. We must back the theory with facts gathered by aircraft to test ash concentration. France and the UK are showing that this is possible. If European civil aviation does not have the resources, it should look to borrow the test aircraft from other countries or military sources,” said Bisignani.

Changing the Decision-making Process : “We have lost confidence in the ability of Europe’s governments to make effective and consistent decisions. Using the same data, different countries have come to different conclusions on opening or closing airspace,” said Bisignani.

“Ultimately the industry needs a decision-making process for ash clouds similar to the one used for all other operational disruptions. Every day airlines make decisions whether to fly or not to fly in various weather conditions. Airlines collate the information available and make informed decisions placing safety first and with full access to all the latest weather reporting. Why should volcanic ash be any different?” said Bisignani.

In the US, which has a lot of experience with volcanic activity, the government identifies a no-fly zone where ash concentration is the highest. For all other areas, it is the responsibility of the airline to decide to fly or not based on the various data sources available. “The US has well-established, safe and effective procedures for tracking the hazards of volcanic ash. In recent years, the industry had no recorded safety incidents from volcanic activity in US airspace. Europe has a lot to learn,” said Bisignani.

Urgency : “Volcanic ash is a new challenge for European aviation. We can understand that systems need to be developed to cope. But what is absolutely inexcusable is the failure of Europe’s governments to act urgently and collectively to provide real leadership in a crisis. We have vast amounts of data from over 200,000 safe flights ready for analysis to support an urgent review of the current processes. The UK is finally moving in the right direction. But what about the other affected European governments? The next transport ministers meeting is scheduled for June 24.  What kind of leadership waits more than a month to make crisis decisions? European businesses are dependant on air travel and passengers certainly cannot wait that long for initiatives like the UK’s to be implemented continent-wide,” said Bisignani.

To enhance the industry’s long-term ability to address volcanic ash issues, Bisignani is traveling to Montreal for urgent meetings with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “IATA and ICAO have been working intensely on this issue since the crisis first struck in April. IATA is strongly supporting the ICAO task force which is reviewing ash tolerance thresholds with operators and manufacturers. The responsibility of manufacturers is critical in providing performance information to back decisions,” said Bisignani.

Tomorrow Bisignani will meet Roberto Kobeh-Gonzales, President of the ICAO Council and Raymond Benjamin, ICAO Secretary-General. “It is important that we act urgently and globally to better deal with this crisis and to lay a solid foundation for better decision making in future eruptions. Even as Europe stumbles with its fragmented approach, IATA is working with the global community through ICAO and by tapping into the experience of leading regulators like the US FAA to facilitate harmonized solutions,” said Bisignani.

IATA Premium Traffic Monitor - March 2010

IATA Premium Traffic Monitor – March 2010

* There was a strong rise in premium travel demand in March, which was up 10.8% on the previous year;

* During the first quarter premium travel expanded at an annualized rate of 25% over the fourth quarter, driven by the rise in business travel;

* However, the fall in premium travel in 08/09 was so large that the size of this market is still 15% smaller than before the recession;

* Economy travel is now back to pre-recession levels and was 7.4% up on the same month last year in March;

* Very large differences in growth between geographical markets persist;

* At one end of the spectrum is Asia and connecting markets while at the other are weak European markets, reflecting the weak economic environment;

* The volcanic ash plume in April is expected to dent this expansion, cutting international travel numbers in that month by an estimated 4%.

Volcano Crisis Cost Airlines $1.7 Billion

Volcano Crisis Cost Airlines $1.7 Billion -IATA Urges Measures to Mitigate Impact-

Bangalore, April 21, 2010– The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the Icelandic volcano crisis cost airlines more than $1.7 billion in lost revenue through Tuesday—six days after the initial eruption. For a three-day period (17-19 April), when disruptions were greatest, lost revenues reached $400 million per day.

“Lost revenues now total more than $1.7 billion for airlines alone. At the worst, the crisis impacted 29% of global aviation and affected 1.2 million passengers a day. The scale of the crisis eclipsed 9/11 when US airspace was closed for three days,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

IATA noted there are some cost savings related to the flight groundings. For example, the fuel bill is $110 million a day less compared to normal. But airlines face added costs including from passenger care. “For an industry that lost $9.4 billion last year and was forecast to lose a further $2.8 billion in 2010, this crisis is devastating. It is hitting hardest where the carriers are in the most difficult financial situation. Europe’s carriers were already expected to lose $2.2 billion this year—the largest in the industry,” said Bisignani.

Mitigating the Financial Impact

“As we are counting the costs of the crisis we must also look for ways to mitigate the impact. Some of our airport partners are setting industry best practice. London Heathrow and Dubai are waiving parking fees and not charging for repositioning flights. Others airports must follow,” said Bisignani.

But the larger role is for governments. Bisignani made four specific requests for regulatory relief:

* Relax Airport Slot Rules: IATA urged that rules on take-off and landing slot allocation (use it or lose it) be relaxed to reflect the extra-ordinary nature of the crisis.
* Lift Restrictions on Night Flights: IATA urged governments to relax bans on night flights so carriers can take every opportunity to get stranded passengers back home as soon as possible.
* Address Unfair Passenger Care Regulations: “This crisis is an act of god—completely beyond the control of airlines. Insurers certainly see it this way. But Europe’s passenger rights regulations take no consideration of this. These regulations provide no relief for extraordinary situations and still hold airlines responsible to pay for hotels, meals and telephones. The regulations were never meant for such extra-ordinary situations. It is urgent that the European Commission finds a way to ease this unfair burden,” said Bisignani.

Bisignani also urged governments to examine ways for governments to compensate airlines for lost revenues. Following 9/11, the US government provided $5 billion to compensate airlines for the costs of grounding the fleet for three days. The European Commission also allowed European states to provide similar assistance.

“I am the first one to say that this industry does not want or need bailouts. But this crisis is not the result of running our business badly. It is an extra-ordinary situation exaggerated with a poor decision-making process by national governments. The airlines could not do business normally.  Governments should help carriers recover the cost of this disruption,” said Bisignani.

Re-Opening Air Space : On Monday, the European Commission announced revised measures for handling airspace closures, following widespread criticism of their methodology.

“Airspace was being closed based on theoretical models not on facts. Test flights by our members showed that the models were wrong. Our top priority is safety. Without compromising on safety, Europe needed to find a way to make decisions based on facts and risk assessment, not theories,” said Bisignani.

“The decision to categorize airspace based on risk was a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, not all states are applying this uniformly. It is an embarrassing situation for Europe, which after decades of discussion, still does not have an effective Single European Sky. The chaos and economic losses of the last week are a clarion call to Europe’s political leaders that a Single European Sky is critical and urgent,” said Bisignani.

Aviation Organizations Launch Safety Information Exchange

Aviation Organizations Launch Safety Information Exchange

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), along with three governmental aviation safety organizations, took the first step to creating a global information exchange to improve aviation safety.

IATA, together with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Commission of the European Union (EU), has signed a Declaration of Intent to exchange safety data.  The signing took place during the ICAO High-Level Safety Conference in Montreal.

“Today’s milestone agreement marks the first time the global aviation community has come together to work on a global safety information exchange. Data must drive our actions so that we can focus our joint efforts on reducing the greatest risks,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

“Working together with governments using global standards, safety has improved tremendously. In 1945, there were 9 million passengers and 247 fatalities. In 2009, 2.3 billion people flew with 685 fatalities. Every fatality is a human tragedy and reminds us that we must do better. Today’s agreement is one more important step to make a safe industry even safer,” said Bisignani.

Audit data will be a key element in the project.  IATA, ICAO, the FAA and the EU conduct audit programs that collect complementary safety information. “We must understand safety trends, not just from the handful of accidents each year, but by bringing together and analyzing data from millions of safe flights. With this we can take more effective action to reduce risks and improve safety performance,” said Bisignani.

“There is no competition when it comes to safety. Cooperation is the way forward.  We have a common goal of zero accidents and zero fatalities. The safety data from audits and oversight programs contains important parts of a whole picture. Agreeing to put this data together is a major step forward,” said Bisignani.

The four organizations will now start work on a way to standardize safety audit information and ensure compliance with local privacy laws and policies. This is targeted to be completed within 12 to 18 months.

The 2009 global accident rate, measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jet aircraft, was 0.71. This is a significant improvement of the 0.81 rate recorded in 2008. Compared to 10 years ago, the accident rate has been cut 36% from the 1.11 rate recorded in 2000.

IATA Willy Boulter Asia-Pacific

IATA Appoints Willy Boulter As Regional Vice President Asia-Pacific

New Delhi, 3 March, 2010 – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has appointed Willy Boulter as Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific.

As Regional Vice President, Boulter will be responsible for Member and Government Relations, and will oversee all IATA’s initiatives in Asia-Pacific.  Boulter brings to IATA over 30 years of industry experience, including 20 years with Cathay Pacific in various positions in Hong Kong, Canada, India, Japan, the Philippines, and the USA.   Boulter joins IATA from Gulf Air where he was the Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to Gulf Air, Boulter was Chief Executive of Sky Express, Russia’s first low cost carrier, and had held senior management appointments at Virgin Atlantic Airways and South African Airways.

“I welcome Willy to IATA at a critical moment for aviation. After a decade in which the global industry lost an average of US$5 billion a year, cutting costs and improving efficiency is a global challenge. At the same time, we must look forward with optimism for Asia Pacific’s future as a leading player. Last year travel within Asia eclipsed North America as the world’s largest market.  Willy will lead IATA’s support for this growing region across the full spectrum of industry issues,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

“I am excited to return to Asia-Pacific, where I spent the first 20 years of my career. Asia Pacific is the future of this industry and the place that I feel most at home. With the IATA Asia Pacific team, my priority is to deliver regional leadership on global industry challenges. IATA brings solutions to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities generated by the region’s growth. These include improving service and cutting costs with Simplifying the Business, global standards on safety with IOSA and ISAGO and a united industry target to tackle environment with a 50% net reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005,” said Boulter.

Asia-Pacific is today the world’s largest aviation market.  In 2009, 647 million people flew within Asia-Pacific markets. This is larger than the 638 million who travelled within North America in the same year. By 2013, growth will result in an additional 217 million people flying within Asia Pacific accounting for almost a third of the global industry.

The mission of IATA is to lead, represent and serve the airline industry. IATA brings together some 230 member airlines, including the world’s largest.  Flights by these airlines account for 93% of all international scheduled air traffic.