BATA recruits new Chief Executive

Tim Alderslade has been appointed as the next Chief Executive of British Air Transport Association (BATA), the trade body representing UK airlines.

Tim will join BATA in May, moving from the Airport Operators Association (AOA) where he has run Public Affairs and PR since December 2012. Prior to joining the AOA, Tim spent seven years working in public affairs and politics in a number of sectors, including infrastructure, international rescue and security, insolvency and healthcare. He has worked for public affairs and communications agency Insight Public Affairs and also for several MPs.

Tim will take over from Nathan Stower who is moving on to take up a senior role with Virgin Atlantic.

Jane Middleton, Chairman of BATA commented:

“Nathan will be a very hard act to follow, but we are confident that Tim will rise to the challenge. I would like to thank Nathan for all efforts, dynamism and energy over the last two years and wish him well in his new role. He has been responsible for new initiatives such as the Annual BATA lecture and our manifesto, as well as delivering much greater emphasis on effective engagement with politicians and the media.”

Tim Alderslade added:

“I am relishing the opportunity to take BATA forward and working with our members, the BATA team and wider stakeholders. It is a huge privilege and challenge to be joining BATA at such an important time for the UK airline industry. Passengers, businesses and the wider economy rely on BATA members and the organisation must continue to play a key role in representing and promoting the importance of the sector. ”

ENDS

13 April 2106

Significant step towards the abolition of Air Passenger Duty in Scotland

Responding to the publication of the Scottish Government’s consultation on a Scottish replacement to Air Passenger Duty, British Air Transport Association (BATA) Chief Executive Nathan Stower said:

“This is a significant step towards the abolition of Air Passenger Duty in Scotland. The Scottish Government recognises that UK APD is holding their economy back. Reducing the tax by 50% as a first step would make a big difference to businesses and families. We urge that the reduction be implemented in full in 2018 to maximise the impact and benefits of the change.

“Devolution will have knock-on consequences  for airports in northern England as passengers travel across the border to pay less tax. APD distorts competition and hinders economic growth. We look forward to its full abolition as soon as possible.”

ENDS

14 March 2016

Flying High? How Competitive is Air Passenger Duty?

New report sets out facts on UK flight tax – the highest in Europe and among highest in the world

With devolution of the tax to Scotland, is England set to lose out?

With just over a week to go before the Budget on 16 March, a new analysis of the UK’s tax on flying has been published. The detailed report, produced by Steer Davies Gleave and entitled ‘Flying High? How Competitive is Air Passenger Duty?’, assesses and benchmarks the UK’s Air Passenger Duty (APD) against similar taxes in Europe and the rest of the world.

The key findings are:

• UK APD has raised a total of £31 billion in total since its introduction in 1994 – from £331 million in its first full year of operation to £3.1 billion in 2015.
• UK APD is the highest European aviation tax for short haul and long haul flights by a long way.

 *The UK long-haul rate will increase from £71 to £73 for flights from 1^st April 2016.

• UK APD has the highest rate of tax for long haul flights in the both the OECD and rest of the world.

• The Scottish Government is committed to reducing the burden of APD by 50% from 2018. If current UK APD rates were simply halved it would significantly improve Scotland’s competitive position compared with the rest of the UK.

Devolution of APD to Scotland – Short Haul (Band A) – comparison with Europe

Devolution of APD to Scotland – Long Haul (Band B) – comparison with Europe

Commenting on the publication of ‘Flying High? How Competitive is Air Passenger Duty?’ , Nathan Stower, Chief Executive of BATA said:

“This report presents a stark and sobering assessment of how internationally uncompetitive the UK’s tax on flying is. It also clearly illustrates the competitive advantage Scotland will gain over the rest of the UK after a halving of APD following devolution of the tax.  

Last week, the Chancellor’s decision to abolish APD for under 16’s came into force, but passengers flying from UK airports are still forecast to pay over £3 billion in APD this year. We call on the Chancellor to transform the UK’s competitive position by setting a course for full abolition of APD during this Parliament in next week’s Budget Statement.”    

Craig Kreeger, Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic, said:

“This report demonstrates that the long haul rate of tax on UK air passengers is the highest in the world. The Government have made some positive steps forward over the last two years, but to become internationally competitive and support our economy this tax on exporters must be urgently reduced at the upcoming Budget.”

Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive of easyJet, said:

“This new independent report shows how uncompetitive Air Passenger Duty (APD) makes the UK compared to Europe and the rest of the world.   This is one league table no country wants to come top of and provides further evidence to support the campaign to abolish APD.

“The Government has already removed the tax for children and we hope that it will abolish this tax completely, helping  to make travel more affordable for all passengers and boosting the UK economy by supporting tourism, investment and business activity.”

 Steer Davies Gleave was appointed by BATA to provide background information on UK APD, including historical trends and international comparisons, as well as context on taxation of other public transport modes in the UK.

The new report sets out the history of APD, including the amount of revenue raised each year, which has gone from £330m to over £3bn in 21 years. In total, APD has raised £31bn since its introduction in 1994. Rates for domestic and short haul economy flights have increased by 160% (£5 to £13) while the tax rate for economy flights to the rest of the world rose by 630% (£10 to £73).

The research confirms that APD is the highest aviation tax levied on passengers departing from airports in the EU, Norway and Switzerland, for both short-haul and long-haul journeys in all classes of travel.  UK APD for short haul flights is 43% higher than Greece, nearly twice as high as Italy, more than two times the rate in Germany and three times that of France.  Band B – the long-haul rate – is £73 per passenger travelling in economy from 1 April. This is more than twice the level of the next highest tax for long-haul journeys, which is levied by Germany (£32).

Overall, when compared with other international peers including the OECD grouping of countries, such as Japan, Australia and the USA, the UK has the highest rates of APD for long haul flights and some short haul flights.

The UK has the fifth highest tax within the OECD for domestic and short-haul economy flights, but the highest tax for business class short haul flights and has the dubious accolade of having the highest tax in the world on long haul flights.

Globally, the UK ranks 27^th and 61^st highest in the world for short haul business and economy flights respectively, with the data clearly showing the UK sitting apart from its competitors in Europe and many other major economies.

The report also considers the situation in Scotland, where control over APD is about to be devolved and the current Scottish Government has publicly committed to cut the tax by half from 2018, with full abolition to follow when finances allow.  If UK rates were simply halved, it would positively affect Scotland’s ‘air tax competiveness’ and all the benefits that flow from that. Scotland would improve its standing by 38 places over the rest of the UK in the global competitiveness league for tax on short haul economy flights. Scotland would rank 9^th highest for tax on long haul economy flights, leaving England and Wales at the top of the league with the most uncompetitive tax of its type in the world. While this means Scotland would still be less competitive than most EU countries, it would have a huge competitive advantage over the rest of the UK.

ENDS

7 March 2016

Statement on disruptive passenger incidents

The vast majority of passengers reach their destination having had a safe and enjoyable journey.

While disruptive behaviour remains rare, incidents can have a big impact – on fellow passengers, on employees, and on the disruptive passengers themselves. The results can be nuisance and annoyance at one end of the scale, to threats to passenger, crew and aircraft safety at the other.

Airline data suggests that excessive and uncontrolled alcohol consumption is a common cause of incidents, but it is not the only factor. Whatever the reason, everyone should understand that it is an offence to be abusive, threatening, insulting or disorderly towards aircraft crew. It is also illegal to board an aircraft whilst drunk or to be drunk whilst on an aircraft. The worst cases have resulted in fines and custodial sentences.

Our member airlines take a zero-tolerance approach to this issue and there are many examples of individual and collective cross-industry good practice. BATA is working with its members and partner organisations across the industry to deliver further practical measures to provide a consistent and robust response to this problem.

ENDS

2 March 2016

BATA statement on incidents involving lasers

“The safety of passengers and crew is the number one priority for our member airlines and they take incidents involving lasers very seriously. Incidents are reported to the police to investigate and take appropriate action, as well as to the CAA, the regulator of UK aviation.

“People who buy and use these powerful lasers need to understand that it is a criminal offence to direct or shine a light at any aircraft to dazzle or distract a pilot and such action carries a maximum fine of £2,500. If a person is found to recklessly or negligently endanger an aircraft this can result in a prison sentence of up to five years.”

ENDS

15 February 2016

UK tax on flying cost passengers over £3.1 billion last year

Airlines call for Air Passenger Duty to be abolished after new official figures reveal that the UK’s tax on flying raked in over £3.1 billion in 2015

The British Air Transport Association (BATA) has responded to the publication of official statistics showing the amount of money raised by Air Passenger Duty – the UK’s tax on flying – last year.

Speaking ahead of this evening’s gathering of the UK airline industry at the British Air Transport Association Annual Dinner, Nathan Stower, Chief Executive of BATA said:

 “New official figures from HMRC clearly show much how Air Passenger Duty has increased since it was first introduced. This UK tax on flying cost the public over £3.1 billion in 2015 – up from £331 million in 1995 and £892 million in 2005.That is a staggering increase of 250% in the last 10 years and over 840% since the first full year of its operation. Even allowing for growth in passenger numbers over the same period, this is still a huge burden on UK businesses, the travelling public, and UK aviation.”

 The figures, published by HMRC and the Office for National Statistics in the official quarterly APD Bulletin yesterday (26 January), are:

 Nathan continued:

“Despite some recent welcome reforms over the last year or two, such as the return to a two band structure and the abolition of APD for children, the UK flight tax is still the highest in Europe and one of the highest in the world.

 “There is a compelling economic and political case for abolition of APD during this Parliament to improve the UK’s international competitiveness, boost trade, increase productivity, encourage inbound tourism and support the travelling public.”

ENDS

27 January 2016

Notes to Editors

• BATA is the trade body for UK-registered airlines, with members representing all sectors of the industry. In 2014, BATA members employed 75,000 people, operated four-fifths of the UK commercial aircraft fleet and were responsible for some 96% of UK airline output, carrying 138 million passengers and 1 million tonnes of cargo.
• The eleven BATA member airlines are: British Airways, DHL, easyJet, Flybe, Jet2.com, Monarch, RVL Group, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways, Titan Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
• The 2016 BATA Annual Dinner, taking place on Wednesday 27 January, is kindly supported by Boeing UK & Ireland. Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, will be the guest speaker at the dinner.
• The latest APD quarterly bulletin, with monthly figures for 2015 and annual totals for previous years is at:

HMRC/National Statistics, APD Quarterly Bulletin – December 2015, published January 26 2016.

*Full annual totals for APD liable passengers and receipts expected to be slightly down on 2014 totals due to:

 a) Exemption of children aged between 2 and 12 from economy rates of APD with effect from 1 May 2015. This measure was estimated by HM Treasury, when announced in the Autumn Statement 2014, to cost £40m in 2015-16, rising to £80m in 2016-17. The exemption increases to include children under 16 from 1 March 2016.

HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, page 57, paragraph 1.223, Air Passenger Duty

HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, page 64, table 2.1, Autumn Statement Policy Decisions

b) Simplification of APD from a 4 band to a 2 band system with the abolition of bands C and D from 1 April 2015. This change was announced by the Chancellor in the 2014 Budget Statement on 19 March 2014 and was then estimated by HM Treasury to cost £215m in 2015-16, rising to £225 in 2016-17. Band A remained unchanged, covering passengers on flights originating in the UK with a final destination 2000 miles or less from London. The new band B covers passengers with a final destination of more than 2000 miles from London. The new band B was charged at the previously planned band B rate in 2015-16 (£71 for reduced or economy rate passengers and £142 for standard rate passengers).

HM Treasury, Budget 2014, pages 37 and 38, paragraph 1.128, Exports

HM Treasury, Budget 2014, page 57, table 2.1, Budget 2014 Policy Decisions

The combined cost of these two changes to APD, announced in 2014 and implemented in 2015, has been estimated by HM Treasury to total £225m in 2015-16.

**Note that the 2015 APD receipts total is provisional and has been calculated from the January to December 2015 reported monthly totals in the latest Quarterly APD Bulletin.

Former BATA Chairman recognised in New Year’s Honours List

Responding to the news that former Chairman of the British Air Transport Association (BATA), Dr Barry Humphreys, has been awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list, BATA Chief Executive Nathan Stower said:

“I am delighted that Barry’s long and distinguished service to UK aviation in both the private and public sectors, as well as academia, has been recognised in this way. His contribution to the successful partial privatisation of NATS, the expansion of Virgin Atlantic, and the development of BATA, are just some of his most recent accomplishments over a career spanning more than forty years. It is also fitting that his charitable work, including his support for Airlink and The Loomba Foundation, has been recognised, showing that aviation can be a force for good.”

 ENDS

31 December 2015

Thousands avoiding roads and trains by flying home for Christmas

With major engineering works planned on railway lines during the festive period and congestion and delays likely on some of Britain’s major roads, thousands have once again decided to take advantage of competitive fares and faster journey times by flying home for Christmas this year.

Nathan Stower, Chief Executive of the British Air Transport Association (BATA), said:

“According to figures collated by BATA and provided by the UK’s three largest airlines operating domestic services – British Airways, easyJet and Flybe – more than 335,000 people will be taking a domestic flight in the week before Christmas Day.

 “Many passengers book far in advance to get the very lowest fares, but less than two weeks from Christmas it is still possible to fly home on Christmas Eve for less than the price of a train ticket.

 “Domestic air services fulfil a vital role, linking regions such as the South West with the North East without the need to go through London, or operating ‘over water’ routes connecting the different parts of the British Isles, where there is no practical surface transport alternative.

 “With £13 of Air Passenger Duty charged on a domestic flight (and £26 for a return), passengers travelling in the seven days before Christmas Day will pay around £3 million to the Treasury in this exorbitant flight tax.

“I would also take this opportunity to urge all passengers to check for any potential disruption to road and rail access to airports over the Christmas and New Year period and to allow enough time to get the airport and catch their flight. Rail access to some airports, particularly Gatwick and Heathrow, may be more difficult than usual during this period.”

ENDS

15 December 2015

BATA responds to Government statement on airport expansion in the South East

Responding to the Government statement on airport expansion in the South East, Nathan Stower, Chief Executive of the British Air Transport Association, which represents UK registered airlines, said:

“We understand the need for a robust assessment of the Airports Commission’s final report, but it is extremely disappointing that the Government has failed to make a decision today. The UK cannot continue to put off this difficult but vital decision while our international competitors forge ahead.

“The independent Airports Commission spent over two and a half years and up to £20 million looking at the question of expanding aviation capacity in the UK. They produced a detailed and comprehensive final report which reached a clear and unanimous conclusion in favour of Heathrow expansion. The report was supported by a significant volume of expert technical evidence and analysis. Our members do not support expansion at any price, but agree with the principal recommendation that an additional runway at Heathrow offers greater potential economic and social benefits than expansion at Gatwick.

“Airport developments are not funded by taxpayers. Expansion at Heathrow has to be affordable for the travelling public and cargo customers who will end up paying for it. We believe Heathrow’s scheme leaves scope for significant cost reductions.”

ENDS

Thursday 10 December

Airlines call on Chancellor to seize the opportunity presented by devolution of APD to Scotland

The two organisations representing the vast majority of airlines operating to and from the UK have joined forces and written to the Chancellor in advance of next month’s Autumn Statement. They are highlighting the opportunity that the devolution of Air Passenger Duty (APD) to Scotland presents to make the rest of the UK competitive.

The joint letter to the Chancellor from the British Air Transport Association (BATA) and the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK) follows the latest official statistics published last week showing that APD has already cost passengers using UK airports over £2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2015.

BATA and BAR UK both raised concerns over the summer about proposals to deal with the impact of devolution of APD to Scotland. Both organisations highlighted significant flaws with the three potential policy options set out in the Treasury Discussion Paper on the issue.

The two trade associations point out that a 50% reduction in Band A and Band B rates of UK APD would be the best way to ensure broad parity with Scotland in the short term. This would support regional growth, whilst not artificially distorting competition or damaging aviation’s contribution to the national economy.  Their objective remains abolition of APD before the end of this Parliament, to deliver the greatest economic benefits and transform the UK’s competitiveness.

Nathan Stower, Chief Executive of BATA, said:

“The Chancellor is right to recognise that devolution including the Scottish Government’s plans to halve APD will have implications for England, but we cannot support the devolution of APD within England. We are particularly concerned that a group of airports are proposing that there should be a higher rate of APD at so-called ‘congested airports’.

 “We believe there is a compelling economic and political case for abolition of APD during this Parliament to improve the UK’s international competitiveness, boost trade, increase productivity, encourage inbound tourism and support the travelling public.”

Commenting on the recent Treasury Discussion Paper about responding to the impact of devolution of APD, Dale Keller, Chief Executive of BAR UK said:

“We believe passengers would find it hard to understand and difficult to accept having to pay more tax to fly than people living in other parts of the country. To put it simply, why should someone living in Bedford, Croydon, or Reading have to pay more tax to visit a potential client, go on holiday, or visit their family and friends, than someone living in Bradford, Chorley or Redcar? 

“Devolution presents the Chancellor with an opportunity to take the lead in addressing the fundamental lack of competitiveness of UK APD.”

ENDS

Friday 30 October