National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK’s principal air traffic services provider, has submitted its proposed domestic en-route charges for 2004 and related traffic forecasts to the Secretary of State for submission to Eurocontrol.
NATS element of the 2004 and 2005 National Unit Rate
The NATS element of the National Unit Rate is to increase to £50.36 per Chargeable Service Unit (CSU) for 2004, from £45.48 per CSU for 2003. NATS estimates that its element of the charge for 2005 will be £48.62.
NATS’ proposed charge for 2004 was calculated using the formula set out in its licence and was based on a recent review of traffic forecasts following a consultation with customers. It reflects:
- An increase of RPI-2;
- A price adjustment to recover revenue allowed under the licence but not charged in 2003 because of traffic shortfalls relative to the base line traffic assumed in the licence;
- A similar adjustment based on traffic shortfalls forecast for 2004; and
- An increase for significantly better delay performance in 2003 (0.8 minutes per flight) than the performance target in the licence (1.2 minutes per flight).
National Unit Rates for 2004 and 2005
The National Unit Rate that is paid by airlines in Euros comprises two elements; the NATS unit charge above to which the Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport unit charges are added. The National Unit Rates for 2004 and 2005 are £57.94 and £57.04. The rate for 2003 was £52.82.
Traffic: forecast and recent performance
The above rates are based on forecast increases in CSUs of 6.0% and 4.1% in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The forecasts for 2003 to 2005 and traffic history for 2002 are as follows:
CSU volumes for the six months to 30 September 2003 were 4.68m, a growth of 3.7% on the same period in 2002. CSU volumes are still 1.3% down on pre-September 11th levels. This reflects the fact that although low cost carriers have grown significantly in the last three years, the transatlantic market (which provides the bulk of NATS' revenues) is taking much longer to recover.
A copy of the Eurocontrol submission is available on the NATS website at www.nats.co.uk.
