There is growing opposition to the European Commission’s Emission’s Trading Scheme (ETS), which came into force at the beginning of the year.

China has already threatened legal action and declared it will not cooperate with the scheme. The most recent opposition has come from India, who has warned retaliatory measures are being considered. A meeting between delegates from the countries against the ETS is to be held in either New Delhi or Moscow in the near future, the result of which could affect flights to hundreds of destinations.

Chris Goater, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said: “Retaliatory measures have been mentioned, and they must be avoided. It could result in a patchwork of different taxes on aviation, with airlines being taxed by two or three different governments. Airlines already have incredibly thin profit margins, so they could certainly result in higher air fares.”

The cost of the tax is being passed onto customers, as this month, Ryanair introduced a fee of 21p (€0.25) per person per flight to cover the cost of the ETS. A spokesperson for the airline, Stephen McNamara, warned that if other airlines hold off doing this, then they will be forced to raise their prices sharply when they finally do, which will impact more so on customers.

Lufthansa said it expects the scheme to cost it around £109 million this year, and has increased its fuel surcharge on European and long-haul flights by £2.50 and £8.40 respectively.

Flights have become much more expensive already with the introduction of the Air Passenger Duty Tax, billed as an environmental tax when it was introduced in 1994. There are calls for this to be lowered to offset the new ETS.

What do you think about the ETS? Please leave comments in the box below.

It’s unlucky for those of you planning to go to Belgium on Monday (30th January), as there is a planned general strike which will disrupt travel services. The strike of public and private sector workers coincides with the EU summit in Brussels.

Ryanair is advising passengers to check its website for information as it might have to cancel all flights to and from Brussels Charleroi Airport.

“If we are forced to cancel flights a list of affected flights will be published on our homepage on Friday 27th January,” it said.

Eurostar announced this morning that services to and from Brussels will be cancelled from 22:00 CET on 29th January to 22:00 CET on 30th January. Trains will only run to and from Lille Europe station, but there will be a limited coach service from there to Brussels Midi stations, however these are likely to be very busy.

Eurostar will allow exchanges free of charge regardless of ticket conditions, but subject to availability.

US domestic flights are to appear more expensive from tomorrow as airlines are forced to include all mandatory taxes, fees and charges in advertised fares.

Most fixed charges will be around £14 for a non-stop domestic flight, doubling on a one-stop flight. The new rules mean that a truer price will be shown on advertisements.

Passengers will also be allowed to cancel their reservation within 24 hours if they make their booking at least a week before departure,  without incurring a charge.

A lawsuit is pending in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as some airlines challenge the US Department of Transport over their decision.

The Civil Aviation Authority is currently advertising for a Chair to a new consumer panel which will give feedback from passengers.

The panel is expected to provide oversight and advice on the CAA’s regulatory approach, and will be  sufficiently independent to hold the CAA to account and act in consumer’s interests.

CAA chair Dame Deirdre Hutton said: “The panel will provide a consumer perspective on all aspects of the CAA’s work. But its main focus will be on how regulation affects the everyday passenger experience.

“We want the panel to shine a light on the passenger experience of air travel and suggest practical solutions to problems they identify.”

The successful applicant will be expected to play a significant part in shaping their role and that of the panel, which will consist of seven consumer and aviation experts.

President Obama has announced plans to streamline the visa process for some nationalities to visit the US.

He made the announcement at Walt Disney World in Florida, stating that those from China and Brazil should have a faster visa processes to encourage them to visit the US and boost tourism.

He said: “I want America to be the top tourist destination in the world. The more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. It is that simple.”

He also called for Commerce and Interior departments to develop a national tourism strategy which will highlight America’s national parks, and cultural and historic sites.

“The steps the president took today are significant and will boost travel to and within the United States,” said Roger Dow, president of the US Travel Association.

Last week there was a battle between Jet2.com and new start up airline JetXtra.com as Jet2 issued a solicitor’s letter to the other airline to warn that it would take legal action if JetXtra did not drop its name by last Thursday at 4pm. Jet2′s reasoning for this action is that it believes that members of the public might mistakenly believe that both companies were the same or related in some way because of the similarity in their names.

JetXtra was to launch flights from its Humberside Airport base to Palma and Malaga in June. Jet2 is based at Leeds Bradford Airport, 78 miles away.

JetXtra director Daniel Reilly said: “It is absolutely absurd that Jet2, a well known and generally respected airline is attempting to disrupt our services, I cannot believe they would resort to such dirty tactics to stop a new company which poses no threat to them from entering the market, especially at a time when our country is desperately in need of enterprise and job creation.

“The only similarity between our companies is the word ‘jet’, our logos and websites are completely different and Jet2 operate from Leeds Bradford Airport, serving and targeting a different market to that of jetXtra.com.”

In a twist to the situation, JetXtra has been ordered by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to stop selling flights to prevent the sale of unlicensed tickets. JetXtra had advertised that flights were covered under its partner company, CCT’s Atol. CTT holds a licence to carry just 620 passengers in the year to September and only 150 this summer, when JetXtra hopes to carry 9,000 passengers.

A CAA spokesman confirmed the reasons for stopping sales: “CTT sought permission to trade with JetXtra.com. We have not yet approved that and until we do it cannot sell holidays. We would not allow a company to sell seats it does not have a licence for.” The spokesman confirmed: “This has nothing to do with Jet2.”

However, JetXtra claimed on its website that they had stopped sales because of Jet2′s letter: “JetXtra.com have been told by the CAA . . . that until a decision is made by Jet2.com in relation to any legal proceedings, the JetXtra.com trading name will not be allowed on to the Atol licence of CTT Group.”

JetXtra’s director Daniel Reilly said: “Any customer who has already booked should not be concerned as this decision to temporarily halt trading will not affect their booking or financial protection offered under the CTT Group Atol.”

Lufthansa is to sell another of its budget carriers (last year IAG agreed a binding purchase of BMI), this time bmibaby. Lufthansa has started talks to sell the carrier to German turnaround specialist Intro Aviation, according to a report on Bloomberg.com, the chief executive, Peter Oncken, is looking at the business in detail.

Lufthansa confirmed talks were ongoing “with several interested parties”. It’s been agreed that IAG will get a discount on the agreed purchase price for BMI if Lufthansa fails to offload bmibaby.

Ryanair is to open new bases across Europe this year, including one in Manchester, which will create many extra jobs.

For the first time there will also be a base in Billund in Denmark, Wroclaw in Poland, Palma in Spain and Paphos in Cyprus.

The airline is looking to recruit more pilots, cabin crew, engineers and sales and marketing personnel. Its fleet will expand from 270 to 305 aircraft in 2012 in expectation of 80m passengers this year, a 4m increase on last year.

For details on how to apply, go their website.

Luton airport is hoping to increase its capacity from 10 to 18 million passengers annually, and create a further 6,000 jobs.

The local council has been looking at ways to increase capacity and jobs, and is expected to be given the go ahead as the Government are keen to increase airport capacity in the South East without adding runways.

Councillor Robin Harris, chair LLAL, the company that owns the airport on behalf of Luton borough council said: “We’re at the very beginning of a journey that builds on the tremendous success we have seen through the last decade and will ultimately bring huge benefits to Luton and the wider region – with jobs and much-needed income.”

Cllr Robin Harris said: “We will consult actively and listen carefully ahead of submitting a planning application but we must be ready to embrace market demand in the future. The benefits that will flow from the airport’s development will be realised in the local, regional and national economies.”

It is currently unclear where the extra passengers will come from, but it has been suggested that budget airlines could fill the gap and provoke strong competition with Stanstead. Good train links to London will also hopefully attract business travellers.

We’re all told that there is an obesity crisis and that we should lose weight for the good of our health. Now, according to some controversial comments made by a former Qantas group chief economist, our weight could cost us more as heavier people should pay more to fly on planes.

Tony Webber, now managing director of Webber Quantitative Consulting and Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Business School, said that although there are many factors which contribute towards fuel burnt by planes, the most important is the weight of the aircraft, so the heavier people on the plane are the more fuel will be burnt, thus raising the airlines costs significantly.

He made the comments in Business Day in Fairfax newspapers, adding that airlines will have to raise airfares to recover the additional costs, which should not be lumbered ”on those who are shedding a few kilos or keeping their weight stable”.

Between 1926 and 2008, the average weight of an Aussie female adult increased from 59 kilograms to 71 kilos and the average weight of an Aussie male adult increased from 72 to 85 kilos, according to Webber.

On a route like Sydney to London via Singapore, he said the extra passenger kilos meant around 3.72 extra barrels of jetfuel per flight is burnt, “which at current prices cost about $472″.

“This tally may not seem like a lot of money but when you add it up over all flights for a year the extra cost can all but wipe out an airline’s profits, such is the thinness of margins these days particularly on international routes.”

His comments may be contraversial, but he did concede that although he believes it to be a good idea to charge larger passengers more, that implementing it by needing to weigh each passenger at check-in, may not be quite so easy.

“As the obesity crisis worsens, however, and the price of jet fuel continues to spiral upward, such user-pay charge may be something the airlines can’t ignore for too much longer,” he said.

What do you think to these suggestions? If this were to be implemented, would it be a form of discrimination? Would being weighed at check-in be an unjust embarrassment?