Transportation

THE TRANSPORTATION AND ACCOMMODATION

Aviation Industry

Travelling by air is seen as the most convenient, fastest way to travel, and now with budget carriers also an affordable one too. Ever since World War Two, the aviation industry has expanded rapidly. Newer and better aircrafts are constantly being put into service, each being bigger

and better and more able to carry more people and cargo and to

travel further before refuelling. European aircraft maker Airbus’s

latest A380 is now able to carry more than 550 passengers on board

and fly a non-stop range of 15,000 kilometres, which is sufficient to

fly from Chicago to Sydney

Travel by air has become safe, comfortable, rapid and above all cheap for several reasons:

-One reason is the enormous growth of aviation technology,

especially since the development of the jet airliner after World War

Two. The first commercial jet (the De Havilland comet, operated by

BOAC) came into service on the London-Johannesburg route in

-Increases in carrying capacity for passengers and freight have

steadily reduced average seat costs, with jumbo jets

accommodating up to 500 passengers

-Airlines, however, are motivated to introduce such large aircraft not

only for reasons of efficiency but also as a means of overcoming the

problem of growing congestion at airports throughout the world,

particularly the leading hub airports where there are acute

shortages of take-off and landing slots.

- Another factor in the development of mass travel by air was the

enterprise and creativity demonstrated by both air transport

management and other entrepreneurs in the tourism industry. The

introduction of the net inclusive tour basing fares for tour operators,

variable pricing techniques such as Advance Purchase Excursion

(APEX) tickets and stand-by fares, and more recently frequent flyer

programmes, in which passengers collect additional free miles

based on the mileage they accumulate with a carrier, have all

helped to stimulate demand and fill aircraft seats. A major

development in recent years has been the growth of low-cost,

airlines like easyJet and Ryanair.

-An equally important development for the scheduled carriers in the

past three decades has been the chartering of aircraft to tour

operators

Organisation of Air Transport

The civil aviation business is composed of a number of elements,

namely:

1. Equipment Manufacturers,

2. Airports,

3. Air Navigation and Traffic Control Services and

4. Airlines

Broadly speaking, air transport operations are regulated in three

ways.

1. Internationally, scheduled routes are assigned on the basis of

agreements between governments of countries concerned.

2. Internationally, scheduled air fares are now subject to less and

less control, as in both North America and Europe airlines are

free to set their own fares. However, governments can still

intercede where predatory pricing is involved, and in practise,

within Europe, fares are permitted to fluctuate between

acceptable maxima and minima.

3. National governments approve and license the carriers which

are to operate on scheduled routes, whether domestically or

internationally. In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has

this responsibility and is also responsible for the licensing of

charter airlines and of tour operations organizing package

holidays abroad.

Further legislation concerning passenger aviation resulted from the

Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation held in 1944, at which eighty

governments were represented in discussions designed to promote

world air services and to reach agreement on standard operating

procedures for air services between countries. There were two

outcomes of this meeting: the founding of the International Civil

Aviation Organisation (ICAO), now a specialised agency of the

United Nations, and the establishment of the so-called five

freedoms of the air. These comprise the privileges of

1. The First Freedom of the Air - The Right of Fly over (Transit). An

airline may fly over another country without landing.

2. The Second Freedom of the Air – The Right of Technical

Landing (Transit). An airline may make a technical landing in

another country for purposes other than the carriage of

passengers or freight, e.g. in order to refuel

3. The Third Freedom of the Air – The Right of Outbound Carriage

(Traffic). An airline may transport a commercial load

(passengers, cargo, or mail) from its home country to another

country.

4. The Fourth Freedom of the Air – The Right of Inbound Carriage

(Traffic) An airline may transport a commercial load from

another country to its home country.

5. The Fifth Freedom of the Air – The Right of Carriage between

Countries. An airline may transport a commercial load from one

country to another country, where neither country is its home

country, provided that the flight begins or ends in its home

country.

Other freedoms not discussed by the Convention, but equally

pertinent to the question of rights of operation, have been termed

the sixth, seventh and eighth freedoms.

6. The Sixth Freedom of the Air - The Right of Carriage via Home

Country. An airline may transport a commercial load between 2

countries, provided that transport is via the home country.

7. The Seventh Freedom of the Air – The Right to Operate Outside

Home Country. An airline may operate outside its home

country while carrying traffic between 2 countries, neither of

which is its own country.

8. The Eighth Freedom of the Air – The Right of Foreign Domestic

Carriage. An airline may transport a commercial load between

2 domestic points in the same foreign state or country. This

right is seldom granted.What is the difference between scheduled and chartered air

services?