Association director-general and chief executive Giovanni Bisignani yesterday said Bangkok, London and Paris airports topped the list of heavy chargers.

Airports in these three cities took US$1.4 billion (Bt48.45 billion) from airlines last year.

Paris collected $634 million. Bangkok was second - with Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports charging a total of $499 million - followed by London, at $188 million.

"This is disgraceful and I will continue to embarrass them with figures and facts. I personally battled a long list of airports with margins over 40 per cent - Sydney, Auckland, Hong Kong, Seoul and Johannesburg," Bisignani said yesterday.

He said IATA helped airlines lower operational costs, but too many airports ran "happy monopolies", including Bangkok.

"Airlines or customers are struggling to reduce costs while airports added $2 billion to their bill," Bisignani said.

Last year, the association won airlines $1.9 billion in savings. However, costs increased $2.6 billion, resulting in a $700-million overall increase in expenses.

The association's No-1 priority of six this year is safety. Last year the accident rate for all airlines was halved, with one accident in every 1.5 million flights. IATA members did better with one accident in every two million flights.

The association's operational-safety audit - a condition of membership - is instrumental in making air travel safer. The industry is on target to improve safety by a further 25 per cent by the end of 2008.

Another priority is security. Nearly six years after September 11, 2001, progress has been made on liquids and gels. However, with more baggage being checked in, airport infrastructure needs to catch up.

Bisignani said governments had forgotten that safety success was based on global standards and cooperation.

"We need to take the same approach with security. It is a government responsibility to provide effective security that is also convenient. Our passengers have been hassled for six years, said Bisignani.

He added that the association was "simplifying the business - 80 per cent of airlines aim to use electronic ticketing by the end of this year".

Infrastructure cost is another mission. Last year the association shaved $1.9 billion in savings from infrastructure partners, but cost increases of $2.6 billion wiped out gains.

"Liberalisation is a challenge. It is a time capsule with 60-year-old rules. It's like trying to climb Everest with equipment from 1944.

"Governments must understand we have a modern businesses to run. Airlines need the freedom to sell their products where markets exist and to merge or consolidate where it makes business sense. Progressive liberalisation is the only way forward. The bilateral system belongs in a museum, in a display case next to the paper ticket," said Bisignani.

IATA announced a $5-billion projected profitability for airlines in 2007 at its annual meeting recently.

Bisignani said then that the industry had changed tremendously in five years. Labour productivity is up 56 per cent, while distribution costs are down 13 per cent. Non-fuel unit costs dropped 15 per cent and load factors were at a record high 76 per cent in 2006.

Airlines need an oil price of less than $20 per barrel in 2002 to break even. "Today we are profitable at nearly $70 a barrel," Bisignani said.

"Airlines are a $470-billion industry. A profit of $5 billion is peanuts. We need $40 billion just to cover the cost of capital. The industry is moving in the right direction, but with $200 billion of debt, the financial hole is deep. The challenge for is to turn peanuts into sustainable profits," Bisignani said.

The environment is the industry's toughest challenge, he said yesterday. IATA has limited airlines' carbon footprint to 2 per cent of the global total. By 2050 the United Nations estimates it will grow to 3 per cent.

"Industry and government leaders must share a common view, addressing climate change with global solutions, tearing down the outdated bilateral system, ensuring cost-efficient infrastructure, harmonising security and making travel convenient again.

"We are a great industry capable of innovation and change. So I am confident in our future - safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible," said the IATA chief.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation