Airbus believes that formation flying could potentially happen on high-frequency routes from 2050 onwards.

In its latest vision for sustainable aviation, the plane manufacturer also said that shorter flights would save fuel and dramatically reduce CO2 emissions.
It stated that by the middle of the 21st century, flights in Europe and the USA could be an average of 13 minutes shorter, saving around nine million tonnes of fuel each year.
Shorter journey times, which could be achieved by the optimisation of air traffic management and on-board technology systems, would lead to the annual saving of more than 28 million tonnes of avoidable CO2 emissions a year as well as the saving of five million flying hours.

Airbus also envisages planes free-gliding on their approach into airports to reduce emissions and reduce noise, and aircrafts climbing more steeply on take-off to minimise noise and allow for shorter runways.
In addition, the company imagines an increase in the use of sustainable biofuels and other potential energy sources such as electricity, hydrogen and solar power, plus highly intelligent aircraft which are able to “self-organise” and select the most efficient and environmentally friendly routes.

It would also like to see passengers reaching terminals faster, so travellers at airports such as Stansted and Luton can get to their destinations in a speedier and more relaxed manner.

Copyright Press Association 2012

Heathrow is the world’s top shopping spot, with higher retail sales than any other world airport, figures have revealed.

It recorded a rise in gross retail sales, up from £1.5 billion in 2010 to more than £1.7 billion last year.

Net retail income per passenger showed a 5.3% rise to £4.35, with much of the rise attributed to increasing numbers of passengers from the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. These customers spent £45.50 on average last year, up from the previous year’s £37.22.

The second place for airport shopping is Incheon Airport, serving Seoul in South Korea.

Total clothing and accessories sales at Heathrow increased 17.7% last year, while World Duty Free shops enjoyed a 12.7% rise.

The retail results were encouraging, said Heathrow commercial director John Holland-Kaye. He praised retail partners and the Heathrow Airport team for working “so well together” to produce such results, which he referred to as “an amazing performance” in a struggling economy.

The figures come as former Conservative environment minister Tim Yeo, who is chairman of the energy and climate change committee, has renewed calls to drop Government opposition to a third runway at Heathrow Airport, arguing that new EU rules on aviation meant it would not lead to an rise in emissions.

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Gatwick Airport saw its profits go up by 43% in the opening half of its financial year, figures from the company have revealed.

An increase in passenger traffic through the airport helped the London hub to achieve this profits boost.

The airport, which offers a range of flights to travellers along with other airports in the area such as Stansted, Luton and Heathrow, now expects to see its profits continue to rise in the closing six months of the financial year.

In the half-year that led up to the end of September, the hub’s operating profit reached £118.6 million, while its overall turnover stood at £314.5 million.

Turnover rose by 15% during the period covered by the organisation’s latest financial results.

Compared with the first half of its previous financial year in 2010, Gatwick’s passenger traffic increased by 8.5%, with 19.7 million people making their way through the airport.

Global Infrastructure Partners, a US investment fund, is the current owner of the airport.

In a statement, the airport said: “While passenger numbers are ahead of expectations for the six months ended September 30, 2011, the expectation for the full year out-turn remains unchanged.”

In the 12 months to the end of March 2012, it expects to see 33.6 million passengers pass through its doors.

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It seems more and more Britons like the idea of having a car while on their holidays abroad, research has revealed.

Travel agent sunshine found that of those who took foreign trips this year, 38% said they had hired a car, compared with just 19% of people in 2010.

The fact that people have more money in their pocket to spend on holiday extras was the reason given for the surge in popularity of car rentals as they fly from airports such as Gatwick, the travel agent said.

A whopping 79% of travellers said hiring out a car in 2010 or 2011 had proved a worthwhile experience and enhanced their holiday, compared to just 6% who said it was a waste of time.

The process of arranging a bus transfer to the airport and between any connecting flights, before picking up a hire car at the other end, can take a lot of the stress out of travelling abroad.

The majority of people – 52% – said they would probably hire a car for a trip abroad next year.

The travel agent surveyed 1,119 UK adults, each of whom had been on at least one overseas holiday in 2010 and also 2011.

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Many air passengers are unaware of the rules against carrying liquids in hand luggage, a survey suggests.

Research indicates that travellers throw out liquid products worth a total of £143 million a year at airports.

More than half (51%) of those who have travelled on a plane in the last 12 months said they had discarded bottles of liquid at airport security before boarding their flight.

Travel company sunshine, which carried out the poll, said passengers threw away an average of £6.50 worth of items each.

The discarded products included drinks, sun cream, perfume and hair products.

The findings suggest that packing should be planned in advance, alongside other preparations such as booking airport transfers, to save time and money at the airport.

But despite the cost and an apparent lack of knowledge about security restrictions on hand luggage, the poll found that there is a great deal of support for the measures.

Some 81% of respondents said they were glad the rules were in place.

Chris Brown, co-founder of Sunshine, said: “I was surprised to find that so many people had to get rid of liquid-based items before getting on flights in the past year.

“The new restrictions mean you really need to be careful when packing. Don’t put any toiletries over 100ml in your hand luggage, because it’ll just have to be binned before you go through security.”

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People who show very little emotion when they lie could soon be caught out by a new lie detector test which examines changes in facial expressions and blood flow.

The test, which could be piloted at an airport like Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick or Luton, uses cameras and computer software to recognise faces that appear to be untruthful.

Tell-tale signs like lip-biting, slips of the tongue, nose wrinkling and blinking are all registered, while thermal imaging is used to measure flushing and blood-flow patterns around the eyes.

It is hoped that police and border officials could use this technology to detect suspected criminals or terrorists.

Given that the cameras can be positioned out of sight up to three metres away from the person in question, the suspect would not know that they are being monitored by the lie detector.

Despite the UK scientists who created this technology wanting to trial it at an airport in the UK, it has not yet been determined what form of study will be adopted.

In traditional polygraph lie detector tests, subject are wired up to equipment that measures blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, respiration and electrical skin activity.

The system is, however, far from 100% accurate as people can use a range of techniques, such as controlling breathing and heart rate, in order to “beat” the test.

However, subjects would have difficulty manipulating their body responses during the new test as they would not know when they were being scrutinised.

At an airport, the test could be used covertly on passengers at check-in or immigration.

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A survey has revealed that 7% more flights arriving and departing from Luton Airport were early or no more than 15 minutes late in the second quarter of this year, compared with the same period a year previously.

According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), “significant improvements” to the Bedfordshire airport’s on-time performance have been achieved, while average delays have reduced by five minutes, a figure also achieved at Stansted Airport.

The CAA also confirmed that 8% more flights arriving and departing from Stansted were early or no more than 15 minutes late between April and June of this year, compared with the same period in 2010.

CAA group director for regulatory policy Iain Osborne said: “The last 18 months have seen unprecedented disruption and we are pleased to see the sector recovering from this.”

Meanwhile, holidaymakers flocking to Spain for villa breaks have helped boost Luton Airport’s passenger levels.

The airport handled more than one million passengers in August, up 9% from the same period a year ago.

It was also revealed that passenger numbers at the airport rose by 11.3% in the first six months of this year.

Glyn Jones, managing director of London Luton, commented: “More business and holiday travellers have come through London’s fastest growing major airport due to the competitive airline partnerships we have attracted.”

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Major UK airports enjoyed a bumper May as the royal wedding and late Easter helped boost passenger numbers, airport operator BAA said.

Some 9.34 million people used BAA’s six UK airports last month, a 9.2% increase on the same month last year, which was hit by the first Icelandic ash cloud crisis and industrial action.

More than 5.8 million passengers passed through Heathrow during the month, a May record for the airport and a rise of 11.6% on the same month in 2010. Edinburgh Airport also enjoyed a record May, with passenger numbers up 13.7%  to almost 826,000.

Stansted handled 0.7% more passengers last month, but Southampton Airport numbers fell 1.1%. Aberdeen Airport numbers rose 11.8% in May 2011, while Glasgow was up 7.0%.

BAA said the late Easter and the royal wedding at the end of April had led to an increase in passengers at the beginning of May 2011 while the second Iceland ash cloud problem had had only a marginal effect.

The company added that the “rolling year” figure, for the 12 months ending May 2011, showed that Heathrow passenger numbers had passed the 68 million mark for the first time.

BAA’s six airports handled almost 41.32 million passengers in the first five months of this year – an 8.6% rise on the January-May 2010 figure.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: “Demand is particularly strong on the long-haul routes that connect UK businesses to fast-growing economies around the world.”

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Planemaker Airbus has offered a glimpse into the future with a concept transparent cabin which allows people to see the sky above them. 

The cabin for 2050 would be designed to measure up to the efficiency of bird bone with the temperature able to be controlled via a cabin wall membrane. 

The design could enable passengers flying out of the likes of London Stansted or Gatwick Airport to get a decent view of the sky above and around them with the transparent cabin wall. 

The cabin would have seats that fit passengers’ body shapes and travellers might be able to read bedtime stories to their children back home, Airbus said. 

Showing off its concept cabin, the company also said that mid-century passengers might be able to enjoy a game of virtual golf or take part in interactive conferences, while the cabin “identifies and responds” to travellers’ needs. 

The cabin of the future follows last year’s unveiling of the Airbus concept plane, packed with technologies to reduce fuel burn, emissions, waste and noise. 

In the cabin concept, new personalised zones replace the traditional cabin classes. 

The “vitalising zone” helps passengers relax, with vitamin and antioxidant-enriched air, mood lighting, aromatherapy and acupressure treatments. 

The “smart tech zone” is tailored towards the more functional-orientated passenger with what Airbus describes as “a chameleon-style offering, to meet individual needs ranging from a simple to a complete luxury service, but all allowing you to continue life as if on the ground”. 

Copyright © Press Association 2011

Chancellor George Osborne has revealed that an inflation-rate rise in the controversial air passenger duty (APD) planned for next month has been shelved until April 2012.

Private jets will now also have the tax imposed on them, although the Government has decided to drop plans to replace APD with a per-plane tax for the time being. Mr Osborne said that all the options being considered had turned out to be illegal under international law.

The level of APD has risen on a regular basis since its introduction in 1994, with last November’s increase meaning airport passengers going on the longest flights were paying as much as £170 in APD fees before extras like airport transfers were taken into account.

According to Mr Osborne, the Government is examining potential reform of APD.

Mike Carrivick, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK, which represents 86 airlines, said: “The Chancellor’s decision on APD is a welcome development but does not go far enough.

“The UK travel industry already pays the highest aviation taxes in Europe and the existing APD levels do not take into account the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) which airlines will pay into from January 2012. Other EU countries have reduced or are removing existing taxes prior to the introduction of EU ETS.”

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