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China has “‘banned'” all airlines in the country from joining the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) aimed at cutting carbon emissions.

The authorities have also barred the airlines from increasing their fares or adding new charges for the scheme.

The ban comes just weeks after the China Air Transport Association said its members did not support the ETS.

The scheme, implemented from 1 January, levies a charge on flights in EU airspace based on carbon emissions.

The move by the Chinese authorities is likely to complicate the issue as the EU will have to decide on what measures it will take from here on.

source: BBC.co.uk

Aviation regulators have launched a guide to optional extra fees charged by airlines.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published a summary of the charges in a comparison document.

Information on the cost of having an in-flight meal and reserving specific seats is included, and a range of other optional charges that airlines may apply.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: “‘Consumers want to know that the price on the label is what they’ll end up paying. But many air tickets seem to come with unexpected charges for everything from choosing a seat to just ‘booking’ the ticket.’

‘”I hope this new information from the CAA will help, which is why we are legislating to give the CAA even more powers to ensure transparency for consumers. Ultimately, however, it’s time that airlines were far clearer cut with passengers about these add-on charges in the first place’.”

Visit www.caa.co.uk/passengers for the comparison table and other information at the CAA “‘passenger portal'”.

source: Press Association

Etihad Airways is buying a 40% stake in Air Seychelles. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier is investing $20 million in the airline and giving the carrier a $25 million loan. Air Seychelles also is receiving a $20 million capital infusion from the Seychelles government. The deal includes a five-year management contract and a state official says the new shareholder will name a new CEO and CFO.

source: aviationweek.com

In the wake of a record year for new aircraft sales, Airbus predicts that demand for its jets would fall by about half in 2012 as the waiting list for its popular single-aisle planes grew and airlines looked to its U.S. rival, Boeing, to fill their steadily increasing capacity needs.

Despite signs of a deepening slowdown in Europe and North America and waning airline industry profits, however, executives at the European plane maker and its parent, European Aeronautic Defense and Space, said they were confident the group’s performance would continue to buck the broader economic downtrend.

Airbus recorded net orders for 1,419 commercial jets in 2011, up from 574 in 2010, giving it a market share of 64 percent by volume, or around 54 percent by list-price value. Deliveries of new jets reached 534, up 5 percent from the previous year.

source: nytimes.com

International airline partnership Star Alliance will likely tender for a broker this year to help its members buy CO2 permits, while Air France, a member of rival group SkyTeam, said its alliance partners would give first refusal to each other when selling allowances.

From January 1, around 4,000 airlines that fly to and from EU airports were included in the bloc’s Emissions Trading Scheme ETS and must next year surrender carbon credits against their 2012 emissions.

The carrier expects fleet emissions of 16-17 million tonnes in 2012, meaning it would need to buy around 4 million permits on top of its free allocation of 12.6 million EUAAs, the aviation CO2 units distributed under the ETS.

Rival coalition Star Alliance, which boasts members Lufthansa, United Airlines and U.S. Airways, does not have a similar arrangement, its director responsible for emissions trading told Point Carbon.

source: Reuters

A major new global study released last week outlines how transformative technologies and evolving social values and trends will combine to establish a new era of collaborative travel over the next decade and beyond.

The report, ‘’From chaos to collaboration: how transformative technologies will herald a new era in travel”, demands increased partnership across the travel industry, in turn removing the stress, uncertainty and chaos which is usually associated with travelling in the 21st Century, as well as providing much richer, deeper and more personal travel experiences at the same time.

source: breakingtravelnews.com

TUI Travel waltzed into the spotlight on Monday after UBS initiated coverage on the holiday company with a “‘buy'” rating and 220p target price.

The broker added TUI to its merger watch-list following recent speculation that its parent company, TUI AG, is looking to buy out the remaining 45.5pc of the business it does not already own.

UBS also initiated coverage on TUI’s beleaguered rival Thomas Cook, which it handed a “‘neutral'” rating. The broker said it preferred TUI because of its developed product mix and stronger balance sheet.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

Ryanair will introduce a 25 euro cents levy on every seat booked from next week to cover the expected 18-20 million euro cost for carbon permits it needs this year under a new European Union emissions trading scheme (ETS).

Europe’s largest budget airline on Monday followed U.S. group Delta Air Lines and Deutsche Lufthansa, Germany’s biggest carrier, in passing costs onto customers.

Global airlines group IATA has estimated the annual industry-wide cost of the ETS will rise to 2.8 billion euros by 2020 from 900 million this year.

source: Reuters

Beijing said it has deep concerns over the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which came into force on New year’s Day and demands all airlines pay a green duty to offset carbon emissions.

“‘China opposes the European Union’s unilateral legislation. China has expressed to the EU our deep concern and opposition many times on a bilateral level,'” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

Mr Hong urged Brussels to hold urgent talks with Beijing over the controversial carbon allowance scheme, which has also met strong opposition from other countries.

China is likely to be able to pull unusually heavy punches in the dispute as its air carriers ferry hundreds of thousand of passenger from Asia into Europe’s troubled markets, including the tourist sector.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

Hong Kong Airlines has placed an order for 10 Airbus A380 aircraft worth about $3.8bn (£2.5bn) at list prices.

The contract will be a relief for the European planemaker, as the order risked being derailed by a dispute between the European Union and China.

Beijing opposes an EU plan that international airlines comply with a scheme to tackle carbon emissions.

But Kenneth Thong, HKA’s corporate governance head, told a television interview the order would go ahead.

source: BBC.co.uk