News Category: Coordination

Dubai SRR – Guidance to Carriers

22/03/18

Dubai Southern Runway Closure

Guidance to Carriers for Summer 2019 (S19) Coordination Process

Further to the announcement that Southern runway will close to allow rehabilitation work to be completed, the following paper will provide some further guidance for the Coordination process.

Schedule Historic List Message (SHL)

ACL will base the SHL for S19 on the S18 baseline held on 16 February 2018. Any slots allocated after this date will not be entitled to historic status during the closure period. ACL will send a SHL to all carriers holding slots on or before the 23 April 2018. Slots that have been selected for cancellation will be annotated as a U line with a reason code CLO.

Should an operator subsequently fail to operate sufficient services during the remainder of the S18 season to achieve 80% utilisation as per the DXB Local Rule on Historic Determination or misuse slots, the airline will be informed of the failure to retain historic slots and the slots will be removed and returned to the pool for reallocation.

Carriers that wish to cancel more that indicated on the SHL during the closure period may do so and benefit from force majeure alleviation at Dubai Airport so that these slots can be returned to the pool to mitigate the impact on other airlines.

Coordination Committee

The Winter 2018 (W18) Coordination Committee will be held in Dubai on 11 April 2018 and will include a briefing on the need for the S19 runway closure and the process for managing the capacity reduction. Please contact ACL should you require additional information.

Submissions

The Submission deadline for S19 is 17 May 2018 (as per the W18 deadline)

  • To claim confirmed Historic slots unchanged please submit using F action code
  • To request a Historic Retime please submit using C/R or C/L
  • To request a change of day for a confirmed historic slot please submit using C/R or C/L
  • Please do not submit new requests for S19 at this stage of the process. New slots can be requested at the standard IATA S19 Submission deadline of 04 October 2018

Carriers should also identify flexibility (using IATA flexibility indicators) for accepting a retime rather than cancellation.

ACL is committed to maximising the available capacity at Dubai International during the closure period. Carriers wishing to reinstate flights that were identified for cancellation in the SHL should include a SI advising the priority of individual flights for reinstatement should additional capacity become available during the coordination process.

ACL will take into account the information supplied by carriers during Initial Coordination to ensure maximum utilisation of the available capacity and minimise cancellations wherever possible.

Summer 2020 (S20) Historics

Cancellation of flights during the Runway Closure will be considered as force majeure at Dubai International Airport.

ACL will communicate with Coordinators across the world detailing the impact of the runway closure and requesting flexibility when determining historic status for S20 for this flights affected by the reduced capacity.

Historic slots for S20 will be based on slots held for the period between 31 May 2019 and 26 October 2019. Slots held and operated for 80% of the period will gain historics at these times for the entire S20 season.

Part season operations that fall outside of this period that held a historic before the introduction of the Local Rule on Historic Eligibility and were marked for cancellation in the S19 SHL will also be allocated historic slots for the subsequent season for the equivalent period held in S18.

ACL recognises that carriers may relocate services for the entire season or for alternative periods as a result of the runway closure. Such carriers are requested to discuss their cancellations with ACL so that appropriate action can be taken to ensure they are not disadvantaged by the closure in the subsequent season.

Key Dates

11 April 2018                       W18 Coordination Committee including S19 Runway Closure Briefing

 

23 April 2018                       ACL will send operators a SHL detailing the flights held and indicating the required cancellations during the period of the closure.

10 May 2018                        Deadline for agreeing historic flights detailed in SHL. After this date ACL will not enter discussion on the flights required to be cancelled.

17 May 2018                         Submission Deadline for claiming Historics and requesting Retimes for the entire S19 season. Historic precedence is subject to meeting the 80/20 rule across the S18 season and slots failing will be removed and returned to the slot pool. No new slots requests will be accepted at this stage.

07 June 2018                        Initial Slot Allocation (SAL) distributed to operators

19-21 June 2018                  IATA Slot Conference 142, Vancouver, Canada (ACL will be available to discuss both W18 and S19 seasons)

From 22 June 2018             Operators can request changes or delete flights by sending a standard SCR through to the date of operation. Carriers should be aware that new requests will not be permitted until the IATA Submission Deadline (04 October 2018)

04 October 2018                 Submission Deadline for New Slot requests for periods outside the closure period.

01 November 2018             Initial Slot Allocation of new requests (SAL) distributed to operators

13-16 November 2018       IATA Slot Conference 143, Madrid, Spain

Updates/Transparency

ACL has a dedicated page on its website relating to the SRR and will publish all relevant documents and updates at various stages on the capacity reduction process to ensure that transparency is maintained. The page can be found at https://www.acl-uk.org/dubai-southern-runway-rehabilitation/

M. 7541- IAG / Aer Lingus New Slot Release Procedure – Winter 2018

05/03/18

On 14 July 2015, the European commission (the ‘Commission’) approved the acquisition of control of Aer Lingus by IAG – this clearance was conditional on commitments offered by IAG to address competition concerns raised by the Commission (the ‘Commitments’). As part of the Commitments, IAG undertook to make five slot pairs available at London Gatwick airport (LGW) to third party airlines that wish to operate or increase daily frequencies on London-Dublin or London-Belfast (the ‘Routes’) but have exhausted all reasonable efforts to obtain the necessary slots through the normal workings of the applicable slot allocation procedure (the ‘Slot Release’).

The first Slot Release took place in 2015 and the five slot pairs were awarded to Ryanair for its Dublin service (two slot pairs) and Belfast service (three slot pairs). However, in November 2017, Ryanair announced that it was moving its London-Belfast route from Gatwick to Stansted and lost the right to use the three Winter and Summer slot pairs awarded under the Commitments.

Against this background, the purpose of this note is to draw the attention of any interested airline to the new slot release procedure (the ‘New Slot Release Procedure’) that will be launched under the Commitments.

It is noted that:

  • • The release by IAG of slots under the New Slot Release Procedure is subject to IAG securing historical rights on the slots which have been returned by Ryanair;

 

  • • At least one slot pair will have to be used for a Gatwick-Belfast service. Each of the two other slot pairs can be used either for a Gatwick-Dublin service or a Gatwick-Belfast service.
  • • Although the New Slot Release Procedure relates to winter slots, priority will be given to applicants wishing to commence or increase a service on a year-round basis. Consequently, and subject to IAG securing historical rights on the Summer slots no longer used by Ryanair, successful applicants of the New Slot Release Procedure will be able to apply also for Summer slots if they plan a year-round service.

Procedure

The slot release procedure is set out in details in the text of the Commitments and we invite any interested party to carefully examine the Commission’s decision and the Commitments:

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_7541

The New Slot Release Procedure will be run in parallel to the IATA General Slot Allocation Procedure for Winter 2018/19 and is set out in details in Section 2 of the Commitments.

 

Pursuant to clause 2.18 of the Commitments, any airline wishing to obtain slots shall make a slot request (the ‘Slot Request’) to Advolis, the Monitoring Trustee in charge of monitoring the Commitments, at least 7 weeks before the Slot Request Submission Deadline of the IATA calendar.

Accordingly, the application process for the IATA Winter Season 2018/19 will be open from 1 March 2018 00:00 UTC to 29 March 2018 18:00 UTC (the ‘Submission Deadline’). Any late Slot Request will be rejected.

The Slot Request by any interested airline (the ‘Applicant’) must include the following:

  • • Details of the requested slot pair(s);
  • • Arrival and departure times of the proposed non-stop operations on the Route;
  • • Aircraft detail;
  • • Sufficient information to allow Advolis and the Commission to determine whether the Applicant is independent from and unconnected to IAG;
  • • A list of leased out or exchanged slots at each airport for which the applicant seeks slots, along with the date at which the leases or exchanges were concluded, in order for Advolis and the Commission to ascertain whether the Applicant has exhausted its own portfolio of slots at the airport subject to its slot request; and
  • • An indication as to whether the Applicant wishes the Slot Request to be treated anonymously. If anonymity is granted by Advolis, any communication and correspondence between the Applicant and IAG will go through Advolis to ensure the protection of anonymity.

Additional information may be requested by the Commission or Advolis to evaluate the Slot Request. In addition, it is highlighted that, subject to clause 2.21 of the Commitments and pursuant to clause 2.24 of the Commitments, the Applicant will be required to submit ‘Key Terms’ and a detailed business plan by the Slot Request Submission Deadline (i.e. 17 May 2018).

The Slot Request must be sent by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or by using any other services that provides an acknowledgment of receipt, for example FedEx, DHL, UPS and have been received by Advolis at the Address of Submission by the Submission Deadline.

Applicants are invited to send an electronic copy of their application to avassileff@advolis.com

The Address of Submission is:

Antoni Vassileff

Advolis

Rond-Point Schuman 6

1040 Brussels

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question through the following address: avassileff@advolis.com

 

Chris Bosworth to step down from ACL

01/03/18
  • Announcement

Airport Coordination Ltd (ACL) today announces that its Managing Director, Chris Bosworth, has decided to step down from the business, and will leave in mid-April. Chris has been instrumental in developing the company into the pre-eminent slot allocation and schedules facilitation business. Over the last eight years the business has developed a reputation which has seen it grow into a key challenger and thought leader. ACL now plays a central role in the development of UK aviation strategy and is currently active on four continents.

Chris Bosworth said: “After eight years leading ACL, I have reflected on my long-term career goals and concluded that the time is right for me to seek a fresh challenge.  I feel I have at least one more senior executive role in me before retirement, and I am leaving ACL in a strong and stable position.  I have greatly enjoyed meeting the various challenges which the past eight years have presented, and am proud to be leaving ACL in a position poised to be able to push onto new achievements.”

Jeff Halliwell, Independent Chair of ACL, said: “Chris has made a huge contribution to the development of ACL, which has been transformed from the business he joined in 2010.  He will be greatly missed, and I know I speak on behalf of all the staff and the Board in thanking him sincerely, and wishing him every further success in his future career.   ACL is in a very strong financial and reputational position, and it is therefore an appropriate time for a fresh pair of eyes to lead its further development.”

The Board is launching a process to recruit a new Managing Director. In the meantime, Mike Robinson will assume the role on an interim basis from mid-March. Mike, who has over 30 years’ industry experience, began his career with BA where he held a number of senior management positions in both the UK and overseas. Mike also has experience in the rail industry and of airline start-ups, plus he previously led IATA’s airline consulting practice. Since 2014 Mike has worked in an independent capacity advising clients including Arup, KPMG, LIAT, London Southend Airport and Starbow

Case M.6447 IAG/bmi – Slot Release Procedure Winter 2018/2019

28/02/18

In March 2012, the European Commission (EC) granted regulatory clearance to the acquisition by International Airline Group (IAG) of British Midland Limited (bmi), subject to Commitments entered into by IAG to release London Heathrow (LHR) slot pairs on selected short-haul and long-haul city pairs.

In order to resolve the competition concerns raised by the EC, IAG were obliged to make available at LHR, a maximum of seven (7) daily landing and take-off slots in order to facilitate the entry or expansion of operators on the routes between London Heathrow to Aberdeen and to Edinburgh, while a maximum further (seven) 7 slot pairs were made available on London Heathrow to Nice, Cairo, Moscow, Riyadh, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

During previous seasons, a total of nine (9) slot pairs have been awarded to respective applicants. Therefore for the Winter 2018/2019 season, five (5) slots in total will be available for London Heathrow-Nice, London Heathrow-Cairo, London Heathrow-Moscow, London Heathrow-Riyadh, London Heathrow-Aberdeen and London Heathrow-Edinburgh.

Please see the link for further details on the process that must be followed by airlines wishing to apply for these slots.

http://www.mazars.co.uk/Home/Our-Services/Audit-assurance/Monitoring-trustee-services/IAG-BMI-CASE-NO.-M.6447

 

Published: February 2018

BA/AA/IB Trans-Atlantic Joint Venture – Slot Release Procedure Winter 2018 / 2019

28/02/18

BA/AA/IB Trans-Atlantic Joint Venture – Slot Release Procedure Winter 2018/2019

As a result of the July 2010 European Commission (EC) commitment decision under Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) decision granting anti-trust immunity to the Trans-Atlantic joint venture between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia, the parties offered to release London slot pairs on selected UK-US markets.

In order to resolve the competition concerns raised by the EC and DOT, the parties were obliged to make available at LHR (or LGW if requested) slot pairs for competing carriers to operate London to Dallas (1 x daily, with option of one-stop), London to Boston (2 x daily), London to Miami (1 x daily, with option of one-stop) and New York (3 x daily). The New York slots will only be available in the event that the number of competitive daily frequencies (not including those of BA/AA/IB) falls below 13 per day between London and New York. Since the Commitments entered into force, the parties have not been required to release slots on the London-New York route due to the number of competitive daily frequencies prevailing on the London-New York route.

For the Winter 2018/2019 Season, the Monitoring Trustee is inviting applications for London to New York (3 * daily).

Please see the link for further details on the process that must be followed by airlines wishing to apply for these slots.

http://www.mazars.co.uk/Home/Our-Services/Audit-assurance/Monitoring-trustee-services/British-Airways-American-Airlines-Iberia

Published: February 2018

S18 SALs Sent

27/10/17

All  S18 SALs for ACL airports have now been distributed. Please contact the coordinator if you have not received the message for a particular airport.