Comparing Government Assistance for the Air Transport Industry in Australia and Japan - Case Study Example

1 Comparing Government Assistance for the Air Transport Industry in Australia and Japan 2 This essay compares the government assistance policies for air transport industry in Australia and Japan. Efforts are made to identify the significant programs or policies established by these governments in supporting the expansion and development of air transport industry. The best policies are highlighted and broadly discussed so as to showcase what governmental support approaches have been successful and the best so far (Cento, 2008). In the past decades, Japanese government has made some serious progress in providing some required assistance to the air transport industry in order to encourage expansion and efficiency. Some of the procedures adopted by the Japanese government include but are not limited to the following: (i) Infrastructural development:-Some infrastructure development projects have been undertaken by the Japanese government to facilitate the activities of the operators in the air transport industry (La Croix and East-West Center, 1995). Some of these developmental projects include the expansion of Tokyo (Haneda) Airport and the construction of road networks that lead into the Airport to facilitate easy movements to the Airport. As the number of both international and domestic flights increased, the expansion of Tokyo Airport is a quite supportive programme that would make it possible for the Airport to occupy the increase in the number of people using the Airport (Ito and Krueger, 2000). 3 (ii) Privatization:-The Japanese Government has also carried out the privatization of Tokyo (Narita) Airport. This aims at transferring the day-to-day operating of the Airport’s facilities into private corporations’ hands and encourage pure competition among the industry players. This is expected to add more value to the processes of managing the Airport, with the hope of increasing customers’ satisfaction. Privatization of airports normally increase efficiency and improve the quality of the facilities at the Airport for better utilization by the throng of passengers using the Airport (Delfmann, 2005). (iii) Deregulation of Airline:- One of the interesting policies undertaken by the Japanese Government to support the air transport industry is the execution of the airline deregulation policy that was introduced in 2000 following the revision of Civil Aeronautics Law. This deregulation attacks the status quo at most airports in Japan which used to issue limited landing slots to airlines and reduced active competition among the players in the air transport industry. This deregulation gives new airlines fair chance of operating in those major airports in Japan that had once been monopolized by the big airlines (Sinha, 2001). (iv) Research and Development (R&D):- It is interesting to notice that Japanese Government also support the R & D drives in Japan. This comes in the forms of reduced taxes on imported aircraft parts and engines and the grant of governmental loans to companies producing essential parts of the aircrafts (Gercik, 2011). 4 (v) Enacted of Appropriate Laws:- Some helpful laws have been promulgated in Japan to help the successful operations in air industry sector of the economy. Prominent among these laws are the (i) Law for Developing Haneda International Airport (2004); (ii) Law for the Development of Airport (2003); (iii) Air Transport Law (2003); (iv) Air Transport Law (2005); (v) Law for Privatizing Narita International Airport Public Corporation (2003). These laws and other transport-related help the operators of air transport industry in Japan to perform optimally in order to satisfy their teeming customers. Almost in similar ways, Australian Government offers important supports to the air transport industry in the country. Some of the helpful policies adopted by the Australian Government include but are not limited to the following processes: (i) Development of Aviation:- Australian Government has rolled out some programs that are targeted at the country’s aviation industry so as to develop it as a viable economic activity in the country. Some of the actions taken involve exposing Australian aviation to the international routes, harnessing domestic and regional aviation to meet the demands of the 21st century, and encouraging the acquisition of industrial skills to enhance productivity (Postorino, 2010). Programs like Remote Air Services Subsidy (RASS) Scheme and Remote Aerodrome Inspection Program are geared towards achieving optimum performance for the air transport industry. On top of this, the Australian Government makes sure that the consumers 5 are duly protected and the aviation industry is properly regulated for economic importance (Goh, 2004). (ii) Aviation Safety and Security:- The increase in the number of attacks at international airports has also compelled the Australian Government to come up with legislations and laws that would protect the Australian air transport industry from being affected by both domestic and international acts of terrorism. This, in a way, also protects the customers from unexpected danger (Price and Forrest, 2008). These safety programs are ably managed by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) with the implementation of laws and regulations like Air Navigation Act 1920. (iii) Aviation Infrastructure:- One of the well-applauded policies of Australian Government is the development of aviation infrastructures all over the country. This involves the construction of new airports and the renovation of the old ones. It also includes the reduction of import duties on aviation materials or parts that are not produced in Australia. A typical example of this financial assistance comes through Remote Aviation Infrastructure Fund (ARIF) which makes funds available for infrastructural development purposes. This helps the aviation industry to minimize cost of acquiring the latest state-of-the-art in global aviation. Consequently, this makes Australian aviation to be competitive with the rest of the world (Winston and de Rus, 2008). 6 (iv) Sustainability Programs:- The Australian Government also promulgates laws and regulations to make sure that the aviation industry in the country remains sustainable. As the issue of environmental preservation creeps into every economic activity, Australian Government has put in place some laws and regulations that would allow Australian air transport operators to operate in a way that the environment would not be endangered. This necessitates that the aviation industry players should utilize only the products that are green and harmless to the environment. More so, they need to consider the impacts of their activities on the consumers; they should analyze and make sure that their activities do not undermine customers’ rights. Through these procedures, it is possible to improve the economic performance of the aviation sector as well as ascertaining that the activities of the air transport operators are in commensurate with the laws of Australia (Upham, 2003). Efforts have been made, on the part of the Australian Government, to increase public-private partnership in a manner that it would contribute more to the well-being of the ordinary Australians. Hence, all these reforms have been supported by the appropriate Australian laws so as to make their continuation possible. Considering the significant points discussed in this essay, it is possible to highlight the differences in the approaches adopted by the Japanese and Australian Governments in supporting the air transport industry in these two countries. It is clear from 7 the comparisons made above that Australia pays more attention to the safety and security and the sustainability of its aviation industry, while the Japanese Government’s deregulation policy frees up the air industry sector of the country for broader participation by all kinds of airlines. As a matter of fact, these three policies are the best ones that should be applied in any country’s aviation industry. The current spate of terrorist attacks in some airports across the globe calls for proactive security and safety measures that would not only safeguard the operations at the airports, but also guarantee that the passengers using the airports are protected. The danger of climate degradation has also made it important that air transport industry operators adopt procedures that would make their actions harmless to the environment. In other words, aviation industry players should operate in a sustainable manner, paying attention to the effects of their operations on the environment and the consumers’ basic rights. Finally, deregulation of the mainstream aviation industry is instrumental for maintain a culture of pure competition. Deregulation will help to break the monopoly enjoyed by national or big airlines over the small and new airlines. As in Japan, big airlines used to enjoy better treatment from the airport management in the area of receiving more allotment of landing slots than the smaller airlines. Deregulation would make all classes of airlines to compete on equal footing; and it will help them to fight monopoly which is anti-productive as far as current capitalism economy in many nations concerned. 8 References Cento, A. (2008). The airline industry: challenges in the 21st century. New York: Springer. Delfmann, W. (2005). Strategic management in the aviation industry. Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing Industry. Gercik, P. (2011). On track with the Japanese. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. Goh, J. (2004). The single aviation market of Australia and New Zealand. New York: Routledge. Ito, T., and Krueger, A.O. (2000). Deregulation and interdependence in the Asia-Pacific region. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. La Croix, S.J., and East-West Center (1995). The Asia-Pacific airline industry: economic boom and political conflict. Darby, PA: Diane Publishing Co. Postorino, .N. (2010). Development of regional airports: theoretical analyses and case studies. Southampton, UK: WIT Press. Price, J.C., and Forrest, J.S. (2008). Practical aviation security: predicting and preventing future threats. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Sinha, D. (2001). Deregulation and liberalization of the airline industry: Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing Industry. 9 Upham, P. (2003). Towards sustainable aviation. Oxford, UK: Earthscan. Winston, C., and de Rus, G. (2008). Aviation infrastructure performance: a study in comparative political economy. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Read More