§ Mr. David MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will extend the consultation period on the future development of air transport in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [84831]
§ Mr. JamiesonA statement was made by the Secretary of State on Thursday 28 November in which he confirmed that the consultation would be extended.
§ Mr. KilfoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aircraft orders each United Kingdom airline placed, in the last 12 months. [85614]
§ Mr. JamiesonFleet planning decisions are a commercial matter for the airlines concerned. The Government does not maintain statistical data on the aircraft orders placed by the 150 air carriers licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority.
§ Mr. KilfoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account he has taken of(a) aircraft orders placed and (b) passenger growth in determining the criteria for the future development of air transport in the UK. [85616]
§ Mr. JamiesonAs described in the national aviation consultation documents, forecasts of unconstrained passenger demand out to 2030 are the starting point for assessing demand for airport capacity. However, this is not a 'predict and provide' approach: the forecasts only identify what additional capacity would be needed if demand were to be met, either fully or partially, so that the positive and negative aspects of that additional capacity can be appraised so as to reach a view on what, if any, degree of airport expansion is appropriate. The passenger forecasts are long term forecasts, anddepend on key factors influencing demand such as GDP and fares; they do not use aircraft orders to assess supply over shorter periods ahead since the availability of aircraft is not assumed to be a constraint.