Some New Year’s resolution suggestions

Ryanair, and especially Michael O’Leary

Make a resolution to stop complaining about airports in Portugal, where they are and what they charge. ANA don’t tell you what you charge passengers for their flights, nor do the tourism authorities. You are already considered to be one of Europe’s most profitable airlines.

Your only purpose in this constant complaining is that you want to drive your own profits up. Nobody questions that you provide a service to Portugal that many passengers use. You have a remarkable talent for finding the right routes and the right prices, and nobody doubts you offer value for money. Just stop complaining, we are not impressed. The airport and tourism authorities are highly unlikely to give you subsidies or commercial advantages over other airlines.

National and local tourism authorities, stamp out the plague of AirBnB

I don’t apologise for calling AirBnB a plague, that’s what it is. Nobody benefits except AirBnB and the property owners. It is taking properties off the local rental market and inflating rental costs. It is also damaging to professional rental companies who manage and maintain properties under their care, employ local staff and pay their taxes. From what I understand from the professional rental market, these Air B&B properties cannot be properly controlled to ensure maintenance and safety because they are rarely declared to the authorities, and probably dodge paying taxes. If anybody wishes to correct my opinion and justify AirBnB you can reply at the bottom of this article, if you are reading online.

CP railways

Your New Year’s resolution is obvious to everyone. Portugal’s railway network is badly out of date. The EU is pouring funds into rail updating, I don’t know if you have had or applied for any funding, but Europe is crying out for high-speed rail. Spain and France are making great progress, Spain even has a ‘bullet train’ in testing. RENFE also says they are moving into Portugal this year, but rail conditions are so badly out of date so they will still face problems. Many people would happily give up the plane in favour of the train, new sleeper services are being launched every month. For travel within Europe, the train has a lot to offer, but only at high speed. Lisbon-Madrid is the link that many passengers want, and by sleeper even better. This link is under construction, but it needs to be subject to some ‘high-speed’ work. Less talk from politicians and more positive steps. The EU would like to ban short flights in favour of rail, and few would disagree with them.

TAP resolves to be careful who you sell shares to

Many people don’t agree with me, but I still think TAP is a ‘national treasure’. They fly the flag for Portugal and offer a better service than the low-cost operators who will be sniffing around to buy into TAP. And by low cost, I don’t just mean the likes of Easy Jet and Ryanair. British Airways has exhibited interest. They are part of the International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A., trading as International Airlines Group and usually shortened to IAG, is an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with its registered office in Madrid, Spain, and its corporate headquarters in London. Since they got control over Iberia, they haven’t improved the service, it’s gone further downhill, the endless drive to lower cost tickets at the cost of service. It would be a tragedy to let their so-called ‘expertise’ being enforced on TAP. They would tell you that they wouldn’t interfere. Look up and see if you can see any pigs flying by!

Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have also expressed their enthusiasm. Both of these airlines have a better standard of service compared to AIG. The German group has demonstrated its ability to turn around and restructure airlines and, above all, to integrate them successfully and develop synergies between the group’s airlines. It is also a long-standing TAP partner in Star Alliance. We can but hope.

Energy suppliers – make a resolution to start cutting the cost of electricity

Portugal is becoming a leader in Europe for renewable energy. The problem is that the consumer is not seeing any benefits to this. We all applaud the environmental progress but it’s not benefiting the consumer.

Stop ignoring the water shortage in the Algarve

The authorities need to make a commitment to connecting dams from north to south. There is little shortage of water in the north, the dams are almost full. Few people believe that desalination plants are the long-term answer. There have been several studies into connecting up the dams, but nothing has happened. It’s time to stop hoping it will rain and deal with the problem. All the relevant authorities need to make a resolution to do something positive, not just talk about it. The problem is not going to go away.

Resident in Portugal for 50 years, publishing and writing about Portugal since 1977. Privileged to have seen, firsthand, Portugal progress from a dictatorship (1974) into a stable democracy. 

Paul Luckman