THE COMMISSION for Aviation Regulation (Car) achieved an operating surplus of €1.3 million in 2008, according to its annual report, which was published yesterday. This compared with a surplus of €376,778 in 2007.
The turnaround in its financial fortunes was the result of a near €500,000 uplift in the commission’s revenue last year, due to an increase in levy receipts and other income, and a fall in its costs.
The regulator’s expenditure declined to €3.3 million last year from just under €3.8 million in 2007, due to a sharp fall in consultancy fees.
The report shows that external consultants were paid €43,860 in 2008 compared with €475,525 in 2007, when the regulator conducted a review of airport charges.
Significant savings were also made in legal fees – which fell by €149,000 – and on advertising and public relations, which dropped by almost €34,000. Salary costs rose by 8.8 per cent to €1.7 million while pension costs almost doubled during the period to €98,916.
The report states that the commission recovered €200,000 in legal costs from Ryanair, relating to two cases taken in 2007.
“The commission is pursuing Ryanair for its costs in relation to another abandoned case and an unsuccessful challenge by them heard in 2008,” the report adds.
The regulator indicated it would be willing to consider merging with other similar bodies as part of the Government’s drive to reduce duplication of State agencies.
The regulator’s annual report details the difficulties experienced last year by the travel trade. Five travel companies that participated in its bonding scheme closed in the second half of 2008. This resulted in the commission processing more than 2,000 claims for refunds, with 1,500 passengers being repatriated.
“In a six-month period, the commission had to process more bond-related work than in the previous eight years, and perhaps more than in the entire history of this licensing and bonding scheme,” the report states.
The cost of these operations was €3.8 million. In the case of Fáilte Travel Ltd, the cost of claims exceeded the value of the group’s bond by more than €1.5 million. This shortfall was funded from the Travellers’ Protection Fund. There were 18 airlines licensed by the regulator at the end of 2008.
