Farnborough Aircraft.com, the F1 air-taxi developer, has called on the UK Government to take a lead in supporting the country's air-transport infrastructure, and to address problems faced by business travellers.
"Business travel by air is set to continue to grow at a rate of 6% a year, yet the system will ultimately reach a state of hub-lock by 2010," says chief executive Richard Noble.
The Farnborough-based internet-driven company, which is attempting to raise funds to develop the F1 single-engine turboprop, slams the government for not tackling these fundamental issues in its recent consultation paper "The Future of Aviation".
In response, Farnborough Aircraft has commissioned an online independent survey, www.businesstravelsurvey.com, to help evaluate travellers' views on the level of provision from the aviation industry and issues which should be addressed by the government.
Farnborough Aircraft believes the results, due to be published in June, will add weight to Noble's view that "the answer lies in the formation of a new high-speed air taxi service, [such as the F1], offering point-to-point travel on demand, for journeys up to 1,000m and servicing a network of public airfields".
Source: Flight International