Europe's two leading airline associations have again criticised EC finance ministers' plans for an air passenger tax to help developing countries.
Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, secretary general of the Association of European Airlines said that “sky high” fuel costs were already affecting the industry and the proposed tax would only make matters worse.
“Already large portions of our cost base are controlled by our suppliers and service providers. New initiatives, aimed at funding development aid, want to turn the airlines into tax collectors with the administrative burden that that entails,” he said.
“To try and squeeze out of our already heavily-taxed industry an additional sum equivalent to eight times the annual profit is wholly inappropriate.”
Mike Ambrose, director general of the European Regions Airline Association cited an EC report which said the affect of the tax would be “negative.”
He said the report showed the tax would worsen Europe's competitiveness, reduce demand for air travel and have a detrimental affect on air ser vies in the regions.
He added: “Now let us see whether the politicians are prepared to act responsibly based on this information.”
The hazards of self booking
Business travellers who book their own trips could be risking their health, Norman Gage, director of business travel for Advantage, a UK consortium of smaller agents, said.
Different reports showed that nearly 60% of British people suffered from work related stress and that company executives were travelling “much more.”
But even though travel was recognised as one of the most stress-inducing factors of business life, bosses of small companies were reluctant to pay for professional travel advice.
The rise in websites, air and rail services and hotel options had also made it “ever harder to make the right travel choices.”
But small companies while happy to employ accountants and lawyers were “inherently reluctant to employ a travel agent even though organising a safe, successful and stress-free business trip can be as complicated as filing tax returns.”