The Association of European Airlines (AEA) has launched a five point Action Plan to “create a framework for a competitive and viable European aviation industry.”
The Association said the current framework was an “impediment to sustainable growth”and called for conditions where the market could flourish. “In the airline industry, the barriers to exit are very high, the barriers to entry are low. Consequently overcapacity has become a major problem affecting the profitability of the industry,” the plan said.
The main points of the plan address:
* Infrastructure capacity: with air traffic management fragmented, a Single European Sky is needed to improve efficiency and avoid delays.
* Airlines/airports: airports should be privatised and a new relationship between them and airlines is required. Independent regulators and fee caps should determine airport charges.
* Security: there should be standard EU rules to maximise security. They should also be compatible with rules in other regions of the world.
* External relations: there should be a smooth transition for bilateral agreements to an international multi-lateral framework. A key objective is an Open Skies deal with the US.
* Environmental challenges: airlines should press for improvements in international standards and the implementation of measures to improve eco-efficiency.
Launching the plan, Mr Vagn Soerensen, chairman of the AEA and ceo of Austrian Airlines, said European airlines were in a “serious state.”
He said the plan was not about internal cost controls or business models but that while airline activity had been liberalised, airline providers like Air Traffic Control, airports and CRS systems had not.
He also criticised the “desire” of European taxmen to “impose an array of cost increases through new taxes, charges and complex legislation.”
He said the delay in a Single European Sky was forcing airlines to “waste huge amounts of fuel daily by flying circuitous routings and holding patterns. Yet we are faced with proposals to pay an environmental tax on that very fuel.”
Mr Soerensen said he hoped to discuss the AEA plan with the new EU transport commissioner, Jacques Barrot and MEPs.
* A fuller summary of the Action Plan is available on the AEA's website: www.aea.be