BER and shair 2.0 –
7 reasons for cooperation
Released 25/04/2022, update 17/10/2022
危機
"The word crisis in Chinese is made up of 2 characters –
one meaning danger and the other opportunity."
J. F. Kennedy
The climate crisis
More non-stop direct flights instead of connecting flights
significantly reduce CO₂ emissions – the opportunity for BER.
Reasons
1. Appeal of the UN Secretary-General
Following an alarming report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for immediate action on 28/02/2022 with the following facts and exhortations:
"Almost half of humanity lives in the danger zone – now.
For many ecosystems, there is no turning back – now.
Unchecked carbon pollution is leading the world's most vulnerable on a forced march to ruin – now.
The facts are indisputable.
This abdication of leadership is criminal.
The world's biggest polluters are guilty of arson against our only home.
The goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees must be achieved at all costs."
2. Less dependence on imported raw materials
Technology State Hesse/Newsletter – 16.03.2022
"The war in Ukraine moves us all very much. It is causing inconceivable human suffering and leading to consequences for the global economy that are difficult to foresee.
In addition to the war in the middle of Europe, we continue to be moved by the effects of global climate change. This makes the issue of resilience all the more important. The transformation towards a sustainable, circular economy is therefore more urgent than ever, not only to achieve the goal of greenhouse gas neutrality. It enables us to reduce our dependence on imported raw materials and thus to better cope with and overcome acute times of crisis."
See our assets: US patent – headline "Reduction of fuel consumption in air transport".
Trademark application shair in more than 30 countries
3. BER’s high air travel potential
Asset BER: High air travel potential for the economic operation of direct intercontinental flights.
Independent analyses are available from the BER team (Nov. 2019; see below) as well as currently from the shair team with pre-Corona data from calendar year 2019. The results are almost congruent.
Long-haul flights from Berlin:
4. BER’s large catchment area
Asset BER: Correspondingly large catchment area of the airport in the 2-hour ICE-/EC-/IC-travel time radius.
Christoph Hansel: Economic Factor BER – The Development of Berlin Airports, here page 10
http://www.verkehrskonferenz.de/fileadmin/ archive/conference_2018/presentations/transport_conference_2018_DO_14.15_2037 _hansel.pdf
5. Seamless intermodality
- An intermodal product presentation, e.g. from Rostock – ICE train – BER – flight – EWR/Newark/New York – Amtrak train – Philadelphia
- A transparent price tag with the services included
- In case of delays of flights and/or trains, an automatic rebooking to the next possible connection takes place
- Convenient baggage handling
Source of the map excerpt: Google Maps
6. What is outstanding for these airports?
What does BER have in common with other airports?
We have examined the following economic and transport geographical objects:
Agglomerations
with more than 1 million inhabitants (date 01.01.2022).
Berlin, with a population of 4,750,000, ranks 110th, which is third in Germany after the Ruhr area and the Düsseldorf/Cologne conurbation. In the catchment area of Berlin Airport are the agglomerations of Hamburg, ranked 193rd with 2,875,000 inhabitants, and Hanover, ranked 536th with 1,140,000 inhabitants. Poland has only the agglomerations of Warsaw and Katowice.
High-speed railway networks
Our selection focus was on an initial infrastructural situation comparable to BER, i.e. flight and train "under one roof". Western Germany is also well equipped with airport railway stations (with ICE-/IC-/EC trains), but does not see a need for innovation compared to the status quo yet.
Assets of the selected airports
An initial proposal for an innovative air/train airport network (in alphabetical order):
Berlin BER
High demand potential for non-stop long-haul flights also due to a catchment area within a 2-hour ICE-/EC-/IC-radius from/to BER.
Newark EWR
Central airport with high-speed rail connection on a US East Coast axis between Washington DC and Boston
Paris CDG
Central in Western Europe - with an international (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany) 2-hour TGV radius
Shanghai SHA
Central airport with high-speed train connection in the middle of a Chinese East Coast axis between Beijing, Shanghai and Canton/Shenzhen
Paris Charles de Gaulle airport und TGV connections
The US East Coast axis EWR
This map shows the rail network on the US East Coast. The focus is on the high-speed connection between Washington DC and Boston. A transition between flight and train exists at Newark (EWR) and Baltimore (BWI) airports.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_the_United_States#/media/
File:High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg
Excerpt Northern US East Coast and legend
Relevant high-speed rail connections East Coast axis China
Comparable to the cooperation between easyJet and Deutsche Bahn, China Eastern Airlines and China State Railway Group launched a corresponding cooperation in August 2020. It is the first such cooperation in China. The connection point between flight and train is Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.
7. Implementation of climate protection measures
Good preconditions
At an aviation summit initiated under the French EU Council Presidency, the Toulouse Declaration was adopted in February 2022 by 35 states and 160 interest groups. The catalogue of measures includes efficient economic measures and improvements in air traffic management.
BER together with shair have a great deal of shared innovation potential for more climate-friendly flying.
At the World Climate Conference in Glasgow on 10 November 2021, the USA and China issued a joint declaration on improving climate protection in the 2020s.
What we can do
Mechanisms of shair
shair stands for share an aircraft. Two or more (competing) airlines share one aircraft (cabin).
The principle is coopetition, a symbiosis between cooperation and competition. This principle is particularly widespread in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries (see Biontech/Pfizer vaccine).
shair is a next-generation tool and provides for code sharing PLUS. This goes beyond classic code sharing. It does not differentiate between operating carriers (="master") and marketing carriers (="slave"), but the airlines that jointly use one aircraft meet "at eye level". This applies to product and service differentiation as well as to a shared responsibility for costs and risks, even though it is shared.
shair has developed a customised cabin and service concept, visually via the lighting along the corporate colours of the airlines. The airline-specific service portfolio (e.g. catering) is also important.
More about the mechanisms of shair
- With shair, we have a special focus on replacing connecting flights with non-stop direct flights as far as possible and reasonable.
- Connecting flights require about 10 to 20 % more kerosene per passenger than direct flights. This is largely due to the multiple take-offs and landings as well as detours. Here is the link to reason 2 above, the careful use of the scarce raw material oil.
- The above correlates 1 to 1 with the, in our opinion, even more important reason 1, Mr Guterres' appeal and exhortation. This means that the CO₂ footprint of direct flights is between 10 and 20 % lower than that of corresponding via hub travel.
- Economically and ecologically we already have, what is missing is socially; with the direct flight the journey is faster and more comfortable for the travellers.
- And then there is a "shair non-stop plus". If, for example, United Airlines, Lufthansa and LOT might "share" the flight, then risks, but also opportunities, are distributed across several airlines. One success factor here is load factor optimisation, which is based, among other things, on a symbiosis of the regional and sectoral market knowledge of the three airlines.
Founder
Dr. Wolfgang Hildebrand
Wiesbaden
Experience
- A-levels, geography studies (diploma), Dr. phil.; diploma thesis and doctorate on mobility topics, logistics make-or-buy as well as intermodality in freight transport (container) as well as in air transport (air/rail)
- Three decades in operational and management functions in a railway and an air transport company
- Language skills: English, French
- IT skills and application experience in Microsoft Office, MS Project and airline systems (CRS)
My successes and my drive
- Project management skills successfully proven in intercultural global teams, especially in innovation projects.
- Critical faculties and, in context, conflict resolution potential
- Leadership quality with social, communication and decision-making skills
- To contribute with my skills in a social and ethical responsibility for the preservation of our livelihoods for future generations.
- With the above also to prove that there is no conflict between economy and ecology.
C. Benedikt Hildebrand
Auckland
Degrees
- New Zealand degree – Master of Computer Science
- German degree – Diplom-Kaufmann (MBA)
Work experience
For fifteen years, self-employed and/or employed, working in IT and/or organisational projects as Director or Senior Business Analyst with the following areas of work:
- Public Sector Digitisation for several municipalities in cities in New Zealand with focus on Auckland.
- Call centre steering and monitoring processes for an American company
- System development for large companies and ministries in Singapore, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates (public sector, school system, oil industry).
Your know-how counts
All your know-how is needed for the joint success of the project.
First and foremost, BER Airport and IHK Berlin (Chamber of Commerce)
Project management
Airlines
Deutsche Bahn and other railway companies
Further land transport providers
CRS, e.g. Amadeus, Sabre, Travelsky
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Federal Ministry of Transport (slots/traffic rights)
Federal Ministry of Economics
Universities Scientific project support
Advisors on traffic law
Aircraft manufacturers Airbus, Boeing, Comac
(German) Airport Association ADV