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Flying Matters
Flying Matters was a pro-aviation coalition in the United Kingdom. Members included tourist organisations, airlines, aerospace manufacturers, trade associations, airport operators, growers and others. Formed in June 2007, they have issued briefings, press releases, lobbied Members of Parliament and commissioned advertisements. The organisation was wound up at the end of April 2011 following the withdrawal of four founding members including BA, BAA and Virgin Atlantic.
Brian Wilson, Chairman was frequently quoted in the press representing Flying Matters. He was a Labour Party member of parliament from 1987 to 2005 and Energy Minister at the Department of Trade and Industry from 2001 to 2003. Michelle Di Leo, Director is a public affairs practitioner who has also worked for Airport Operators Association and on the 'Freedom To Fly' campaign in 2003 during the lead up to the Aviation White Paper. Until recently she was a partner in a strategic communications consultancy and has also worked for the National Union of Teachers and the British Lung Foundation. The Steering Group consisted of representatives of the major members and was chaired by Toby Nicol, Communications and Corporate Affairs Director at easyJet.
The Flying Matters coalition included trade associations such as the Airport Operators Association[1], Air Transport Users Council[2], British Air Transport Association[3], Society of British Aerospace Companies[4] and Tourism Alliance[5]. Tourism bodies and travel agents were also well represented with members including Association of British Travel Agents, Association of Corporate Travel Executives, First Choice, MyTravel and Thomas Cook. A number of airlines operators and manufacturers were members including Airbus, Boeing, British Airways, EasyJet, Flybe, Monarch, Rolls-Royce and Virgin Atlantic, as were two airport operators BAA and Manchester Airport. Trade unions included Transport and General Workers Union, Unite - The Union and GMB Union. In addition to the above Farmers Own[6] (growers) and the Fresh Produce Consortium[7] (importers), DHL (freight), Nats (air traffic control), Macquarie Group (finance) and Qinetiq (defence) was also members. A full list was available on their main website.
The organisation was formed early in 2007 and was very busy during the year. They commissioned various polls and attended the party conferences arguing that in particular that the Conservatives' position on aviation to limit aviation growth would lose them votes. They lobbied against restrictions of airport growth generally and were frequently quoted in the press.
The first public news of the organisation was released in May in Brand Republic and in Airport News. The organisation was formally launched late in July with the stated aim of showing that the aviation sector was "taking climate change seriously". They accused Inuit leader of "apocalyptic green spin" at the official enquiry over the expansion of Stansted Airport and respond the Conservative Party policy of limiting aviation growth and gave their first details off their proposed advertising campaign featuring "No Entry" signs in front of the Taj Mahal and Sydney Opera House
In August BAA, a Flying Matters member, applied for the "mother of all injunctions" against the Camp for Climate Action which was to be held near Heathrow airport in August. and won a much reduced injunction and the protest camp arrives close to Heathrow Flying Matters published a number of briefings: "Aviation and Climate Change", "Aviation and Tourism", Aviation and the UK economy, "Aviation and trade with the developing world" and "Aviation and People".
In September, Flying Matters attended the UK Party conferences. At the Labour conference, they sponsored a fringe meeting entitled "going Green" at which Brian Wilson was "taken to task as he defended the growth of airports and spoke against higher taxes". An aide to Ken Livingstone, the Labour Mayor of London, proposed a tax on "frivolous fliers" - Brian Wilson is quoted as saying: "Deeply offensive, I have never heard of a bigger suicide pill politically than curbing frivolous flights."
The Conservative Party proposed increased taxes on flights and cars and Brian Wilson is quoted as saying, "Taxes which increase the cost of flying will simply price working families out of flying".
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Flying Matters
Flying Matters was a pro-aviation coalition in the United Kingdom. Members included tourist organisations, airlines, aerospace manufacturers, trade associations, airport operators, growers and others. Formed in June 2007, they have issued briefings, press releases, lobbied Members of Parliament and commissioned advertisements. The organisation was wound up at the end of April 2011 following the withdrawal of four founding members including BA, BAA and Virgin Atlantic.
Brian Wilson, Chairman was frequently quoted in the press representing Flying Matters. He was a Labour Party member of parliament from 1987 to 2005 and Energy Minister at the Department of Trade and Industry from 2001 to 2003. Michelle Di Leo, Director is a public affairs practitioner who has also worked for Airport Operators Association and on the 'Freedom To Fly' campaign in 2003 during the lead up to the Aviation White Paper. Until recently she was a partner in a strategic communications consultancy and has also worked for the National Union of Teachers and the British Lung Foundation. The Steering Group consisted of representatives of the major members and was chaired by Toby Nicol, Communications and Corporate Affairs Director at easyJet.
The Flying Matters coalition included trade associations such as the Airport Operators Association[1], Air Transport Users Council[2], British Air Transport Association[3], Society of British Aerospace Companies[4] and Tourism Alliance[5]. Tourism bodies and travel agents were also well represented with members including Association of British Travel Agents, Association of Corporate Travel Executives, First Choice, MyTravel and Thomas Cook. A number of airlines operators and manufacturers were members including Airbus, Boeing, British Airways, EasyJet, Flybe, Monarch, Rolls-Royce and Virgin Atlantic, as were two airport operators BAA and Manchester Airport. Trade unions included Transport and General Workers Union, Unite - The Union and GMB Union. In addition to the above Farmers Own[6] (growers) and the Fresh Produce Consortium[7] (importers), DHL (freight), Nats (air traffic control), Macquarie Group (finance) and Qinetiq (defence) was also members. A full list was available on their main website.
The organisation was formed early in 2007 and was very busy during the year. They commissioned various polls and attended the party conferences arguing that in particular that the Conservatives' position on aviation to limit aviation growth would lose them votes. They lobbied against restrictions of airport growth generally and were frequently quoted in the press.
The first public news of the organisation was released in May in Brand Republic and in Airport News. The organisation was formally launched late in July with the stated aim of showing that the aviation sector was "taking climate change seriously". They accused Inuit leader of "apocalyptic green spin" at the official enquiry over the expansion of Stansted Airport and respond the Conservative Party policy of limiting aviation growth and gave their first details off their proposed advertising campaign featuring "No Entry" signs in front of the Taj Mahal and Sydney Opera House
In August BAA, a Flying Matters member, applied for the "mother of all injunctions" against the Camp for Climate Action which was to be held near Heathrow airport in August. and won a much reduced injunction and the protest camp arrives close to Heathrow Flying Matters published a number of briefings: "Aviation and Climate Change", "Aviation and Tourism", Aviation and the UK economy, "Aviation and trade with the developing world" and "Aviation and People".
In September, Flying Matters attended the UK Party conferences. At the Labour conference, they sponsored a fringe meeting entitled "going Green" at which Brian Wilson was "taken to task as he defended the growth of airports and spoke against higher taxes". An aide to Ken Livingstone, the Labour Mayor of London, proposed a tax on "frivolous fliers" - Brian Wilson is quoted as saying: "Deeply offensive, I have never heard of a bigger suicide pill politically than curbing frivolous flights."
The Conservative Party proposed increased taxes on flights and cars and Brian Wilson is quoted as saying, "Taxes which increase the cost of flying will simply price working families out of flying".