Summer swallow or Autumn squalls?

British airline passengers have apparently regained their zest for travel.

According to the British Airports Authority, passengers who travelled through the six airports they control show an increase in September of 3.3% over the same month in 2009.

Heathrow did much better, posting a passenger increase of 7.6%.

Heathrow's passengers to Brazil grew by 27.1%, to Russia by 23.7% and China by 10.3%.
Travellers to North America from Heathrow grew by 6.5 % compared to an overall BAA traffic count of 5.1%.

Clearly all travel, both on scheduled and charter flights, have shown growth in September and BAA put this down to: consolidation after the end of the recession, re-instatement of flights and increases in business travel.

‘One swallow does not a summer make’ is a quotation to bear in mind, even in the autumn. Attempts to cut the UK's financial deficit and ongoing problems with the banks are still raising fears of a double dip recession.

And then there is the certain impact of the increase in the airline passenger duty that will come into effect next month.

For travellers to the Caribbean, Southern Africa and the Far East, economy passengers will pay £75 instead of £50 and the original £20 charged in 2006.
Premium travellers will now pay £150, a huge rise from the £40 first imposed in 2006.

British tourists to the Caribbean have fallen by as much as 25% and this is very bad news. Alan de Chastenet, St.Lucia's minister for Tourism is reported to have said that tourism contributed 64% of the Island's GDP, 70% of tax revenues and 85% of its foreign exchange income.

Don't expect any improvement when the tax is possibly changed to airline flights instead of per passenger. APD will generate £3.8 billion of annual revenues in aviation taxes by 2015.

The Chancellor will not accept less.

Jeremy Bullmore

Jeremy Bullmore is a man worth listening to. His observations are based on a willingness to listen and the ability to learn.
His career in advertising needs no elaboration suffice to say it was successful and merited.

One of the things he does well, is to write a column in Campaign, an advertising trade journal in the UK.
Last week he was asked for advice from a newbie in the business "What are your three most important bits of advice for someone like me?"

His answer :

“Advertising is, or should be, all about ideas, wheezes, hypotheses and improvisations : why don't we...? what about...? let's try...... Good advertising makes difficult things happen - and almost everything that's going to be suggested, at least in it's initial expression, will be patently flawed.
As an eager young recruit, you'll be sorely tempted to display your intelligence by pointing this out : by focusing the blinding light of your analysis on the obvious inadequacies of each fragile weakling : and almost certainly in the presence of the weakling's author and the author's superior. What's more, it will be clear from your expression that you expect praise for this act of wanton demolition.
So my first piece of advice; never, ever do this. It's the easiest thing in the world and the least constructive. If you want to be valued, you need to display a consistent ability to see potential in the feeblest spark and help to coax and cosset it until it blazes into glory. If you can't do that, just shut up and listen.
I don't know what the other two are.”