Category: Viewpoint

Editorial view on topical subjects

Outdated Mentality Slows ATM Progress

I am sure Jane’s Airport Review will forgive me for picking the title of one of their articles but it was so stunning, I could not resist the temptation. It looks like October was a month of bad news from the world of ATM and I am starting to get a terrible feeling of déjà vu…… Continue reading Outdated Mentality Slows ATM Progress

Air France and Hungarian water-melons

While Hungarians are being urged by their Minister of Agriculture to buy a few extra pieces of water-melons, thereby helping local growers, French politicians under the leadership of right-wing MP Bernard Carayon are proclaiming: “Air France is Airbus, not Boeing”. Excuse me? Of course this incredible folly is a direct retaliation for the US Air… Continue reading Air France and Hungarian water-melons

When Technology Overtakes Obfuscation

Not so long ago the hottest topic of discussion, and a major item of contention, was the idea of Free Flight. In case you are not sure what that was all about let me just say that free flight is an air traffic management concept under which the responsibility for providing separation is transferred to… Continue reading When Technology Overtakes Obfuscation

Volcano kicks European ATM cooperation into high gear

In the past, programs to improve European air traffic management went under the name EATCHIP (1 to many) and the results were meager at best. More recently we got the Single European Sky (SES 1 and now 2) and of course SESAR. Introduction of SES was a major problem even for the European Commission powerhouse… Continue reading Volcano kicks European ATM cooperation into high gear

Seat pitch – a matter for the European Parliament?

My travel plans were only slightly affected by Iceland’s wayward volcano but I understand some members of the European Parliament and the European Commission were less fortunate. This is good. Hopefully they now have a better appreciation of the value and performance of an industry they are so keen to regulate but which otherwise they… Continue reading Seat pitch – a matter for the European Parliament?

What would Adam Smith advise to modern airlines?

Adam Smith as we all know was an 18th century Scottish scholar with a number of famous books to his name, among them The Wealth of Nations. In this tome, Smith argues that self-interest and free, competitive markets are powerful forces for prosperity and the common good. But he does, for good measure, also demand… Continue reading What would Adam Smith advise to modern airlines?

Making the ATM infrastructure cheaper will also cost money

Few other parts of the air traffic management infrastructure come in for so much criticism these days than surveillance. To be precise, the hopelessly obsolete, rotating antenna based radar surveillance. Those rotating monsters are not only expensive to buy but they cost and arm and a leg to maintain too. It is no accident that… Continue reading Making the ATM infrastructure cheaper will also cost money

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Is it nice to work for an airline?

When I started my life in aviation, air traffic control was part of the corporate structure of the local airline, Malev. A bit like having the police department integrated into the taxi company and with no less interesting situations that arose when the owner airline was not given the priority they desired. So, yes I… Continue reading Is it nice to work for an airline?