New EC commissioner urged to set up forum
Siim Kallas, the incoming EC commissioner for transport, was today (December 2) urged to set up a Stakeholder Summit for the aviation industry early in the New Year.
A letter to Mr Kallas, calling on him to organise the summit, has been signed by bodies representing all sectors of the industry, including consumers, airlines and travel buyers.
Among these are the Association of European Airlines, the International Airline Passengers' Association and the business travel associations from the UK, Ireland, Belgium and Finland.
The letter was organised by the Business Travel Coalition (BTC).
It told Mr Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, that "The crisis gripping the airline industry is without precedent in the history of commercial aviation.
"We are deeply concerned about this perilous financial state of affairs and the loss of jobs and connectivity of mid-size communities to important European and global business centres.
"All opportunities to ease current and proposed regulatory burdens and to increase efficiency for European airlines must be reviewed with the greatest sense of urgency.
"A socially and ecologically sustainable civil aviation industry should be an important goal for Europe."
Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the BTC, said Ray LaHood, the US transport secretary, had already formed a committee on the future of the American industry.
He added: "We believe stakeholders in North America and Europe would benefit if Washington and Brussels conducted parallel problem-solving processes as airline alliances, among other interlinked commercial aviation elements, have necessitated a harmonized approach to regulatory regimes.
"What's more, a corresponding process would provide the opportunity for the exchange of best practices with respect to including all stakeholders' interests in smart air transportation policy development and regulatory oversight."
www.businesstravelcoalition.com