Parties stay divided on airport privatisation
Airline officials say deep divisions remain over the government's proposed Airport Authority privatisation during the second round of public consultation on the future governance of Chek Lap Kok.
But Cathay Pacific Airways chief operating officer Tony Tyler insists the airline community and the Airport Authority were continuing to meet on open and friendly terms.
'I think I speak for the airline community as a whole when I say that most airlines are neutral on who should own the airport. But it is important for the airport to be competitive, as it is an important driver for local economic growth. Talks with the government and Airport Authority have been open and friendly. But there are still significant disagreements.'
The first three-month consultation period ended without agreement on key issues such as the airport's accounting policies and a regulatory and charging structure that reflected the importance of the airport to the development of the local economy.
Public consultation papers released in November prompted concerns that aviation-related charges at Chek Lap Kok would be raised ahead of the listing to give its shares a better valuation on the stock market.
'Privatisation should not be used as an excuse to put up charges. [They] are already high enough to ensure good returns over the long term,' Mr Tyler said.
A fundamental disagreement is whether the airport should continue to balance its books on a single-till accounting system or move towards a dual-till system.
The rationale for changing the system would be to give the authority power to set airline charges and commercial leases separately as needed to ensure that both areas are independently profitable.
'The core argument is that, as airport revenues grow, airlines should at least be allowed to share, to some extent, in that growth. That belief is not shared in some sectors,' he said.
