Legalflyer

Welcome to the December 2016 edition of Legalflyer.

Airline regulation – What you need to know with Brexit approaching

Prior to the UK referendum on EU membership, executives of several leading airlines came out in public support of the UK’s continued membership of the EU, citing freedom to fly across Europe as the foundation of modern low-fare air travel. In this article, antitrust, competition and regulation partner, Ian Giles, considers the significant expected impact of Brexit on flying rights as well as airline ownership regulations. He also looks at additional areas including Regulation 261/2004 and concludes with a brief consideration of areas which are likely to remain unchanged.

Heathrow set for take-off?

On 25 October 2016 the UK Government announced its support for a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport. By virtue of Heathrow’s position as one of the world’s busiest airports for international traffic, this is a significant announcement for the aviation industry. The announcement provides a much-needed sense of direction in the debate about future runway capacity in London and the South East of England but it represents just the beginning of a long process. In this article, planning partner Duncan Field walks through the process and the anticipated timeline that may deliver the new runway.

Islamic finance – Aviation and innovation

Islamic finance remains one of the fastest growing sectors in the international finance industry and in recent years it has been used in the aviation industry. Gregory Man and Tom Burke from our Dubai office together with Emma Giddings from our London office look at the principles that underpin Islamic finance and how these are applied to aircraft finance transactions. They also review some of the more innovative Islamic finance products and consider the market outlook for this financing route.

Bound by intention? Novus Aviation Limited v Alubaf Arab International Bank BSC (c)

A recent decision of the Commercial Court in England serves as a reminder to financial institutions and other transaction parties of the potential consequences of entering into documents which they may not have intended to be legally binding. James Bradley from our Singapore office and Jonathan Mullender from our Munich office summarise the facts of the Novus Aviation Limited v Alubaf Arab International Bank BSC case, the outcome and consider practical steps that can be taken to lessen the risk of documents which are expressed not to be legally binding on the contrary being found to be so.