COMMENT: ERA Celebrates 25 Years
The idea for a European regional airline association was first conceived atop a mountain restaurant in St Moritz, Switzerland, in 1980. Moritz Suter, the founder of Crossair, was having dinner with Swiss journalist, Sepp Moser. They talked over a plan to give Europe”s minnow carriers a mouthpiece and a lobbying platform to protect them from the major carriers and authorities. The European Regions Airline Association was born.
This week in Gothenburg a 600-strong aviation fraternity, including 50 regional airline presidents, will meet for their 25th annual general meeting. Their working agenda will be heavily focused on the future ” raising fuel prices; new regulations; emissions and poverty tax; passenger compensation and how it has lead to misconceptions among the travelling public; air safety and passenger mobility will all feature, with addresses from notable, international speakers.
Director General Mike Ambrose who has taken ERA from strength to strength since his appointment in 1987 will tell CEOs that it is no longer enough to have a good network, optimum aircraft fleet and robust marketing. That can no longer guarantee a profitable and successful airline. Today”s airline presidents and CFOs must have skills in risk management, currency and fuel. And Moritz Suter, Honorary President, will tell members they have to be more aggressive and stand up for their interests. Regulations continue to hamper the industry and pilots continue to have their stranglehold on the airlines. ”Just look at the scope clauses in the US and you can see why the US airline industry is in so much trouble. The pilots have always ruled the industry and they will continue to do so,” he says.
Moritz is now running Hello, a charter/ACMI airline based in Basel. It takes its name from the Beatles song, his tongue in cheek message to the Swiss Board that ousted him. In the first six months he and his team achieved a modest profit and there are plans to add three more Boeing MD90 jets to take the fleet to six. He won”t venture into another regional airline venture again. However, he is on the board of Romanian/Swiss regional Carpatair.
Among the personalities who helped shape the industry over the past 25 years are Tom Appleton and Ulf Edlund, who contributed so much to the Dash 8 and Saab 340/2000 programmes respectively. Both will be in Gothenburg.
ERA will also welcome senior representatives from the Eastern European Air Transport Association and the Arab Air Carriers Organisation.
Who would have thought 25 years ago that the big debate in 2005 would be turboprops v turbojets. The conference talk has not changed. It is still props v jets. And if fuel prices stay at present levels who is to say that in another 25 years the debate will not be continuing. http://www.eraa.org