He's going to get a nasty surprise when the UK follows Japan and
passenger miles fall courtesy of rising prices
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4684456.stm
Of course any explanation except the real one is given for the fallPassenger numbers fell about 2% during the period at 44.04 million people from 44.84 million during the same period in 2004, as passengers declined in both international and domestic travel.
Traffic between Japan and China fell sharply after anti-Japanese protests in April, when China was angered by Japanese approval of a school textbook presenting a nationalist view of early 20th Century history.
On domestic travel "individual passenger demand remained stagnant as a result of adverse publicity over safety-related issues."