March 25, 2009
The last 10 years have not seen the overdue consolidation in the world's airline industry. There are still too many airlines chasing too few passengers. The provision of infrastructure has been haphazard (new airports in China, new runways in the Gulf, prolific discussion in the UK). The continuing regulatory drag, and inter state imbalance, has inhibited many necessary efficiencies.Al-Qaeda has shown a consistent and persistent interest in Civil Aviation which has also seen itself become one of the poster children in the climate change debate. Emissions trading, offsetting, and alternative fuels , were little discussed in 1999; in 2009 they were on the front page of the websites. Printed front pages are now a part of history as are printed tickets, fixed prices and uncrowded airspace. This Lecture will explore the current environment and endeavour to encourage the participants.
