[Peetwo]

Cabotage - dueced tricky stuff.

...P2 – "How very strange for M&M in Estimates no less?? M&M is not known for offering up so many words on a subject that should be totally within the remit of CASA.

Yes, you would thinks so, but FAOC issue is a very 'political' matter.  There are companies, reputable companies, who have almost given up sanity trying and many others who have; the cost of exercise being in direct proportion to the pre determined degree of difficulty.  The time, money, effort and frustration expended by some operators is truly horrendous; but for others it's a stroll in the park.  Strange and wonderful are the ways of 'the department'.  Bit of a litmus test for Skidmore, will he take steps to de-politicise the FAOC process and get some less contentious, competent people in to run that particular section.  There are some truly dreadful stories; e.g. did you know Jeppersen products are not considered adequate; sometimes.  

Now I know that's a bit cryptic but FAOC applications have not had much air time as they are commercially sensitive and easily identified, but I can assure you the stories are there, real, live and almost unbelievable.  Lets hope Skidmore gains clarity, time and space to deal with some very contentious issues in the FAOC department. 

I must admit to not too much yawn..  ..interest in international aviation cabotage, I do however know how politically sensitive it can be. You only need to take a look at the Department website under International Aviation to see how convoluted it all is... Quite simply a bureaucrat's wet dream of smoke'n'mirrors & potential embuggerance to fill a lifetime of so called public service - no wonder M&M is particularly sensitive on the subject...

As an example, in international aviation circles the ICAO audit of Thailand has been causing a bit of a stir. From Planetalking article - Thai carriers under threat of air safety downgrade):

"..Should Thailand, or for that matter Australia, be busted down to Level 2
status,  the flag carriers of each country would be prohibited  from starting new services or adding capacity to existing flights to the US, or codesharing with US carriers, or face similar restrictions in some countries in Asia, with the latter situation already a problem for some Thai carrier access to Japan and South Korea as set out in the story linked to above.."

However; recently the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has come out defending two of it's members - Thai & Bangkok Airways - saying the restrictions that certain countries are placing on them is unfair - IATA calls restrictions unfair

...Global airline industry body IATA has defended the operational safety of Thai Airways International (THAI) and Bangkok Airways in the wake of a blanket scepticism of Thailand's aviation safety standards.

Tony Tyler, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, made the statement adding it is unfair for some countries to restrict new charter and scheduled flights by Thailand-registered airlines. He said Thai airlines should not be penalised for Thai government regulatory errors raised by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)...

Also on the subject of cabotage - & as a strange coincidence - there was a presser put out yesterday from the miniscule titled - Talks boost Australia-Philippines aviation capacity

More flights between Australia and the Philippines will result from the latest air service negotiations between the two countries.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss said the new arrangements will provide for flights to increase by 55 per cent over the next year.

“Importantly, the settled arrangements expand code sharing opportunities for Australian airlines, providing potential for our airlines to expand their global networks and connectivity through cooperative marketing arrangements with overseas partners,” Mr Truss said.

“This is an important and growing bilateral aviation market, growing at an average of 10.5 per cent over the last five years.

“The new arrangements will allow this growth rate to continue for another four years, recognising the potential of Australia as a prime tourism destination within the Asia-Pacific region.

“Increasing the number of flights between Australia and the Philippines will help ensure that we have the aviation capacity necessary to meet future growth in demand.”

The new arrangements provide an immediate increase in capacity entitlements from 6,000 seats each way each week to 8,300 seats each week, rising to 9,300 seats from March 2016.

Airlines can continue to operate unlimited services between the Philippines and Australian regional locations, such as Darwin, Cairns, Adelaide and the Gold Coast.

Okay get the picture??

MTF...P2