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TRansportation
Issue |
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IATA
News Release (Berlin)
"More people than ever are flying, 1.8 billion in
2004, and the challenges to the industry have never
been so great. Airlines must meet customer
expectations for cheaper travel while retaining the
value of service quality and the network system and
returning value to shareholders," said Giovanni
Bisignani, Director General and CEO of the
International Air Transport Association in the
keynote speech of the first Aviation Day at
Berlin's ITB. 100%
e-ticketing globally by the end of
2007 bar
coded boarding passes radio
frequency identification for baggage
management common
use of self service kiosks for
check-in paperless
cargo "The
trick is to turn what airlines have achieved
individually into industry systems. E-ticketing is
our main focus. We ended 2004 with nearly 19% of
tickets processed through IATA being E-tickets. By
the end of 2005 we will be at 40% and we are
confident to meet our 100% target by the end of
2007," said Bisignani. Bisignani
also challenged German infrastructure to keep pace
with the industry's need to change. "Germany's main
airports are living in the wrong age," said
Bisignani with reference to increase in charges at
Munich and Frankfurt. "German airports need real,
independent and effective economic
regulation." Similarly,
plans to privatise DFS, the German provider of air
navigation services, are being watched closely by
the industry. "Instead of reducing their costs, DFS
plans to increase charges by 3.0% in 2006 and a
further 8% in 2007. If DFS behaves this badly as a
public monopoly, how will it act as a private
monopoly?" questioned Bisignani. "The industry's
bottom line is transparency and consultation during
the privatisation process with real economic
regulation that encourages efficiency." Bisignani
criticised the European Commission for its record
on aviation issues. "Instead of a clear policy
vision we have a bureaucratic approach to a dynamic
industry. The result is micromanagement and
mis-regulation which is epitomised by the badly
conceived European rules for compensation for
delays and cancellations," said Bisignani. In
contrast, Bisignani looked forward to results from
Germany's Standort Deutchland initiative that
brings government and industry together. "Travel,
tourism and aviation are linked. Our customers are
the same and many of our challenges are common.
Together we should expect greater efficiency from
our infrastructure providers and effective policy
from our governments," said Bisignani. This
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