Aviation

Aviation

Volterra’s experience in aviation focuses on:

  • The economic impact of aviation – impacts upon productivity, international competitiveness and economic growth
  • Understanding and testing passenger demand models – what do they assume about underlying growth, environmental costs, and passenger preferences?
  • Socio-economics of aviation expansion – how many jobs will be created, what will the local impacts be on unemployed and skills levels

Volterra analysed the case for the second runway at Stansted, challenging the passenger demand forecasts for this airport, and the reported wider economic benefits. For Heathrow we tested the sensitivity of the case to assumptions about the cost of carbon and highlighted other areas where significant uncertainty existed. Founding partner Bridget Rosewell has advised on the economics of creating a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

Capabilities Employed:

Transport Economics
Socio-Economic Assessment

Second runway at Stansted Airport

We worked for Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils providing analysis and input into the economic case for opposing the second runway at Stansted Airport.

The project involved questioning the assumptions underpinning the passenger demand forecasts, user benefits, wider economic benefits and costs of the scheme, resulting in a thorough challenge of the Cost Benefit Analysis.

Bridget Rosewell was due to be an expert witness at the Inquiry, however in May 2010 the BAA withdrew plans to build the second runway.

Heathrow Third Runway

Commissioned by the 2M group of local authorities around Heathrow Airport, Volterra authored an issues report and subsequently produced a Witness Statement in support of the successful judicial review of the government’s policy support for a third runway at Heathrow.  Volterra’s analysis did a thorough review of the economic impact assessment, and specifically considered the benefit cost ratio (BCR) of the supported case, highlighted areas where significant uncertainty exists, and considered the extent to which surface access costs and travel delays were appropriately included in the Impact Assessment.