AVIATION
up, up and away
Demand
for
global
air
travel
appears
to
be
on
the
increase
according
to
IATA;
the
industry
trade
group
of
airlines.
Recent
?gures
from
the
industry
body
reveal
that
interna:onal
passenger
demand
for
air
travel
across
the
globe
increased
by
7.5%
over
the
corresponding
period
for
2012.
All
the
key
regions
of
the
world
recorded
increases
in
demand
with
load
factors
matching
the
record
high
of
83.4%
set
in
July
2011.
North
America
and
Europe
in
par:cular
seemed
to
have
con?dent
performances
for
the
last
12
months.
However,
despite
the
posi:ve
growth
across
the
globe,
IATA
remains
cau:ous
about
recovery
ci:ng
vola:le
oil
prices,
increasing
compe::on
and
regulatory
barriers
as
poten:al
threats.
In
the
UK
market
the
issue
of
airport
capacity
in
the
south
east
is
the
domina:ng
topic.
Pressure
on
the
UK’s
busiest
airports
is
set
to
con:nue
as
demand
for
avia:on
travel
con:nues.
In
a
speech
last
month
in
London,
Sir
Howard
Davies,
chair
of
the
Airports
Commission,
set
out
the
Commission’s
developing
views
on
the
UK’s
future
airport
capacity
needs.
While
the
Commission
is
not
set
to
deliver
their
report
un:l
the
summer
of
2015,
acer
the
next
UK
general
elec:on,
emerging
thinking
points
to
the
need
for
new
runway
infrastructure
in
the
south
east
of
England
in
the
coming
decades
–
the
ques:on
is,
will
it
be
an
addi:onal
one
at
Heathrow,
another
solu:on
at
Gatwick
or
Stansted
or
indeed
a
brand
new
airport?
With
the
introduc:on
across
many
of
the
worlds
across
many
of
the
world’s
major
airlines
of
the
Boeing
787,
more
widely
known
as
the
Dreamliner.
Despite
some
in-?service
technical
issues
in
early
2013,
which
saw
the
aircrac
grounded
by
several
avia:on
authori:es
it
has
since
returning
to
service
in
the
spring,the
new
crac
has
captured
the
imagina:on
of
the
public
once
again
heralding
a
possible
golden
age
of
avia:on.