CEF FUNDINGTaking stock and moving forward
AIRSPACE BLOCKSFunctional, f lawed or the future?
FROM AIRPORT MEGA-HUBS TO GOOGLE VR Who owns the air passenger’s spare time?
The aviat ion consultancy of Egis
The Helios Newsletter - Issue 3, 2016
ON AIR«
1 9 9 6 - 2 0 1 6
AN N I V E R S A R
Y
20
Executive Chairman
AVIATION FACTSIn a world full of statistics, aviation offers up its fair share
of the quirkiest and often mind-blowing numbers! Helios
regularly undertakes detailed analysis and benchmarking
of large data sets, deftly considering many of the
complex inter-relationships in the commercial aviation
sector, underpinned by our team’s real world expertise.
Here we share just a few of the amazing numbers that we
have uncovered, some impressive and some more light-
hearted, but all of which go to show that aviation matters
to the inter-connected world around us.
Awareness and collaborationFollowing on from our Farnborough celebrations during
Airshow week, the next leg of Helios’ 20th anniversary
journey took place in Brussels, where we met with
customers recently and where we are solidifying our
presence as a company. Marvelling at the show of aircraft
in the aviation hall of the Royal Museum of the Armed
Forces and Military History, I learned that a large-scale
international exchange and publicity campaign helped it
to grow its collection from just thirty aircraft in 1972 to 130
today, placing it among the most important air museums in
Europe.
In similar spirit, Helios has this month set about raising
awareness of the latest European funds for collaboration
and innovation in aviation, and how to access them. You
can read our short advisory piece opposite, but please do
get in touch for more information.
Again on the theme of collaboration, Joe Taylor writes
a staunch defence of FABs and their place in the Single
European Sky toolkit.
And finally, Mike Pearson wants greater awareness of
customer behaviours and technology trends to be built
into airport planning. Should we collaborate to build some
future scenarios?
All food for thought …
Best wishes
Mike ShorthoseLEADING EDGE
the number of jobs supported worldwide by aviation63 million
>10 000 the average number of flights in the air at one time
the forecasted contribution aviation will make to GDP by 20261 Trillion
the place aviation would rank in terms of GDP, if it were a country21st
the number of passengers carried on scheduled services in 2015>3.5 billion
O On 8 July EU Member States approved the Commission’s list of the 195
transport projects that will receive €6.7 billion of EU funding under the
2015 CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) Transport Calls for Proposals,
including close to €700 million of funding for projects under the SESAR priority.
Expert support from Helios helped two European ANSPs and the Borealis Alliance
secure over €100 million of funding, including for the implementation of Remote
Tower Services and the evolution of Free Route Airspace over Northern Europe.
However, the clock has again started ticking with the recent opening of the
2016 Transport Call, releasing €400 M of funding for Projects under the SESAR
priority. Given the tight deadlines involved in the application process, it is therefore
sensible for stakeholders, including ANSPs and airports, to be asking themselves a
few questions, in order to maximise their chances of receiving funding:
Q: Have we understood the Deployment Programme? In the 2015 Call, 80% of
SESAR funding (€650 million) was made available for projects deploying ATM
functionalities identified in the Pilot Common Project (PCP). The Deployment
Programme lists the status of implementation of ATM Functionalities for all
airports and States covered by the PCP, and so aligning your projects with gaps
in your State’s or Airport’s implementation of the PCP is the first step towards
receiving funding for Common Projects.
Q: Do we have any innovative projects that fall outside the Deployment
Programme but that should be eligible for SESAR funding? Remote Towers are a
great example of an initiative outside the Deployment Programme which received
funding in the 2015 Call. Identifying these projects means thinking outside the
box (and studying the ATM Masterplan)!
Q: Are we eligible for Cohesion funding? Last year the General Call was
heavily oversubscribed, but the Cohesion Call (aimed at Member States whose
Gross National Income per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU average) was
significantly undersubscribed and distributed less than a third of the funding
made available.
Q: Do we have the resources to successfully apply for funding? CEF applications
require an expert understanding of SESAR, particularly the Deployment Programme
and the PCP, and can be time intensive. Investment in extra personnel, or recruiting
expert help, could be the difference
between success or failure!
CEF FundingTaking stock and moving forward
H e l i o s h e l p e d t w o E u r o p e a n A N S P s a n d t h e B o r e a l i s A l l i a n c e s e c u r e o v e r € 1 0 0 m i l l i o n o f f u n d i n g
Author: Stuart [email protected].
Airspace blocks: flawed or the future?
Fourteen European Member States face legal
action for non-conformity with FAB regulation.
A study is now underway to work out how far
FABs have progressed and what to do with them
next, led by the European Commission. But is the
non-conformity of some FABs overshadowing the
achievement of others? Here Joe Taylor offers his
personal view:
Many people consider FABs to have failed as
other initiatives grow. New technology and business
models promise to have a disruptive influence, more
States are opening air traffic services to competition
and the Performance Scheme drives improvements
in other ways. There is considerable uncertainty
about the future of FABs, but is this well-founded?
FABs have not failed. It is the difference between
what has been achieved and what was originally
expected (elimination of fragmentation) which
undermines their value and diminishes their
achievements. FAB projects can be counted amongst
the most progressive to have been delivered in
contribution to the Single European Sky (see diagram).
FABs should embrace qualities which set them
apart. As partnerships bound by national governments
they are powerful vehicles for change. They represent
the most mature basis for cooperation that ANSPs
have, and regional proximity lends itself to cooperation.
FABs have reason to be positive and confident. They
have delivered some innovative initiatives in the past,
and are primed with solid foundations for the future.
That said, FABs should recognise their limitations
and adapt in order to forge a bright outlook. Whereas
FABs are driven through top down regulation, more
flexible partnerships can define their own direction
based on choice. FABs should look at the overarching
aims of the Single European Sky rather than specific
regulation, and develop a clear vision for how they
can uniquely contribute based on aligned business
needs - deciding what not to do is as important as
deciding what to do.
Author: Joe [email protected]
FABAchievements
The changing European ATM environment brings
many exciting opportunities for FABs to explore. The
best among them will pick something long term,
additive and of mutual benefit: digitalisation, joint
research and innovation, Big Data, virtual and remote
operations, exporting joint services. They should now
adapt and embrace their position as a unique part
of a growing toolbox to deliver the Single European
Sky. The alternative is that change may be imposed
upon them.
Joe Taylor spent 18 months onsite in Bulgaria
and Romania as the Project Management Contractor
for the DANUBE Functional Airspace Block, from
January 2015 – July 2016.
NUAC First company to
deliver en-route ATM in a common airspace
Cross Border Sectors:
First example of cross border alteration of
charging zones to optimise FIR boundaries
Common ATM System
Plans to procure common ATM System, lowering
cost and increasingperformance
Legal EntityHarmonisation of procurement
procedures and central management
Dynamic Sectorisation
First operational trials in Europe for tactical
switching of ATS between providers
First cross border arrival service of its kind in the world.
Reduced time in holding stacks into LHR
FAB-wide migration from manual to electronic safety
reporting
FRASI FRAAmbition to create the biggest FRA zone in
Europe, extending from north Africa – mid Atlantic
North East Free Route Airspace
The basis of the Borealis Alliance, linking 2 other
FRA FAB initiatives
DK-SE
DAN
UB
E
UK
IR
EC
NE
SW
BA
LTIC
CE
BLUE MED
Automation of occurrence management Extended XMAN
TECHNICAL & HR AIRSPACE AIRSPACE AIRSPACE AIRSPACE
TECHNICAL &
HR
AI
RSPA
CE
TEC
HNIC
AL &
HR
T
ECHNICAL & HR
We are told that, with the expansion of new travel-related technologies,
comes more ‘free’ time during a passenger’s journey to, and
through, the airport. However, the assumption is always that this
time belongs to the airport, which can then woo, entertain and sell to passengers
in a post-security nirvana. Airport concepts of the future are now being drawn
as playgrounds, but just how real is this notion? As both a user and designer of
airports, I’m sorry to report that I’m that guy that walks on to the plane at the last
minute: you know him, the one who is threatened with off-load for fear of missing
the almost mythical on-time departure!
The reality though, is that I’m not lost in the shops, or sipping champagne
nor am I having a facial massage…simply put, I choose to NOT spend all of my
pre-flight time at the airport! I’m clearly not alone, as more and more passengers
choose to bypass the pre-flight shopping experience altogether in preference for
smaller, dedicated, lounges where they can at least subtly exert some choice in
how they use their time.
My thesis here is that airport designers and operators need to carefully
reconsider the future travel experience - and the distinct possibility of radically
different scenarios for mass air travel - and how they design new and existing
facilities and operations to cope. Our travel habits have changed due to new
technologies, but have they changed in the way we originally anticipated? It is no
longer sufficient for airports to pay lip-service to looming technological change,
only to only tweak the existing travel paradigm and then backfill it with a massive
new dose of passenger indulgence.
I remain unpersuaded by the implicit assumption that just because I will
have more time to spare means that my spare time, and money, will get spent at
the airport. If reality is shifting into ‘immersive’ experiences using a Google VR
cardboard box, then who is to say what we might be doing in advance of flights
in the future? Maybe we’ll be doing shopping or security screening in totally new
ways, using VR self-service processes that can be done anywhere and anytime
before arrival at the aircraft door. “Just in time” delivery might no longer apply
solely to car parts at Nissan’s factory, but might be the norm for passengers
accessing their flight, having arrived seamlessly from home by an Uber-esque
air-drone-taxi service. Far-fetched? Maybe. Maybe not. But the converging
space of airport concept planning, airline business models, mass travel, new
building engineering methods, all coupled with rapid technological advances and
heightened environmental awareness, suggests that the existing paradigm might
well be in need of a fundamental overhaul.
Author: Mike [email protected]
FROM AIRPORT MEGA-HUBSTO GOOGLE VR... Who owns the air passenger’s spare time?
Conformity Assessment – Demonstrating compliance with the
requirements of regulation remains a key challenge for CNS/ATM
providers and NSAs, particularly when it is as complex as the Interoperability
Regulation and the growing number of Implementing Rules attached to it.
Having originally developed the Eurocontrol guidance material, Helios has
since worked closely with several ANSPs and CNS/ATM providers, most
recently including those from the North Sea oil industry. We are experienced
at integrating the process of Conformity Assessment into existing
engineering processes regardless of the type of CNS/ATM system. No
matter where you are based our approach focusses on simplifying language,
engaging stakeholders and reducing the burden of Conformity Assessment
through the use of tried and tested processes.
Skyguide Safety Frameworks – Helios provided on-site methodology
development for skyguide’s Safety Department. We led safety
workshops, supported other safety assessments and produced safety
documentation. We also helped further develop their safety framework,
resulting in a new release. The newly developed framework aims to help
managers identify whether a change requires an assessment, clearly
defines the steps which need to be taken, and reduces the amount of
documentation to be produced; all while maintaining the quality of the safety
assessments. The new framework has been accepted by the Swiss regulator
(FOCA).
Toronto Airspace Review – NAV CANADA has appointed Helios,
together with Graham Lake and Bo Redeborn, to complete an
independent investigation into issues associated with aircraft noise in
Toronto. The team will review the current situation regarding air traffic
management practices, flight path design and aircraft operating practices
and will consult with a range of concerned stakeholders from across the
greater Toronto area. This will culminate in the production of a final report
that will present the conclusions and any recommendations relating to
whether there are further initiatives and solutions to help mitigate issues
associated with aircraft noise.
Tales from Eastern Europe – In September, Joe returned to our head
office from a two-year secondment to Eastern Europe. As the head of
the Project Management Office of the DANUBE FAB and the independent
interface between ROMATSA and BULATSA, Joe supported the FAB to
define its strategy, initiate and drive joint projects, ensure effective working
of its governance structures and consultation platforms, and facilitated
communication internally between partners and externally to other European
States and Institutions.
Now back on home soil, aside from missing the delights of Eastern
Europe, Joe is looking forward to using his on-site experience in the heart
of two ANSPs to support the development of ANS strategy through Helios’
contracts with European Institutions and ANSPs.
HOT AIR«
OFF AIR«
ON LINE«
Please send change-of-address notifications to [email protected]; by post to Helios,
29 Hercules Way, Aerospace Boulevard, AeroPark, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6UU,
UK; or call us on +44 1252 451 651.
This newsletter has been written for the interest of our clients and colleagues. We
believe the facts are correct at the time of printing, but cannot be held responsible for
any errors or omissions.
www.askhelios.com
Helios is the aviation consultancy of Egis, delivering management consultancy,
strategy, investment and technical advice across the globe. Combining analytical
rigour, strategic context and creativity, we bring independence and insight to every
opportunity we address.
Our parent company, Egis, is an international group headquartered in Europe, with
over 13,000 employees and a turnover of $1bn.
Did you know?.. .Helios consultants write fortnightly blogs. These are short
and topical, covering industry news, insights and conference
reviews.
Here’s a selection of our latest:
• Integrated risk management for effective decisions
– Glen Smith
• Exploring the future of airports in 2050 – Claire Davies
• How long until we see remote towers at complex airports?
– David Phelps
• Aviation cyber-security: are we under attack yet?
– Matt Shreeve
• Integrated Risk Management: what it means to the aviation
industry? – Claire Blejean
• A strategic approach to airspace planning – Ivan Baruta
Go to www.askhelios.com/blog to read them and follow us on
Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook to get notifications.
It ’s a roll-over…Sadly no one managed to solve last issue’s wonderfully
difficult brain teaser of a puzzle. So we’ve decided
to roll the prize forward for this issue and draw two
winners from the pile of correct answers we receive –
giving two Helios prizes. So do take part! What better
encouragement to get those grey cells working?!
Rogue droneA farmer has 12 miniature drones in his ‘swarm’; all
look and feel identical. One of them is slightly heavier or
lighter (he doesn’t know which), and they have not been
charged, so he cannot fly them. He has a comparative
scale (which tells if what is put on the left side is heavier
or lighter than on the right side). He needs to find which
one is the non-standard drone and whether it is heavier
or lighter, but he only has three goes on the scale.
Clue: divide the drones into groups of 4 and then, as a first step, choosetwo groups and weigh one against the other.
How does he do it?
The answer will be published in the next edition of ON
AIR. Please send your solutions to onair@askhelios.
com by the 27th December 2016. The first two correct
answers drawn at random after this date will win a pair of
Helios noise-cancelling headphones. Good luck!