Global initiatives for emissions and a new approach to ash contamination key topics for AEA Assembly
Europe’s competitiveness was the thread which ran through the discussions at the Presidents’ Assembly of the Association of European Airlines, which took place in London .
Said Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways and AEA Chairman for 2010: “It’s about time Europe makes up its mind what it wants from its airline industry. The liberalisation of the market has brought about huge efficiency benefits, a stream of product innovations, lower prices and consumer choice. Yet all along the line these benefits are being eroded by heavy-handed and inappropriate regulation in some areas, and a reluctance to tackle structural deficiencies in others”.
The imminent inclusion of aviation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme was a case in point; while nothing short of a global approach to aircraft emissions will bring meaningful environmental benefits, the opposition of 120 non-EU countries to the imposition of the EU rules on their flights into and out of Europe threatens to leave European airlines isolated, and burdened with a competitive disadvantage.
A further burden faced by European airlines is the inefficiency inherent in the fragmentation of airspace. The realisation of the Single European Sky project was more urgently needed than ever. This message was conveyed to David McMillan, the Director General of Eurocontrol, who addressed the Assembly about the role of his organisation as a key element in the development of an efficient and internationally competitive air traffic management system. Mr McMillan shared the airlines’ view that, as well as maintaining its enviable safety record, European air traffic management should aspire to provide airline customers with a high-quality and highly-efficient service. The AEA chiefs confirmed their strong support for the work undertaken by McMillan to promote necessary and sustainable reforms.
The airline CEOs voiced their strong concerns that, while Europe’s airlines were held back by heavy-handed regulation and structural deficiencies, their global competitors were forging ahead, sponsored and supported as instruments of national policy.
Said Willie Walsh: “Our success is Europe’s success. But if we are weighed down by taxes and charges at home, we can’t compete to the best of our ability abroad. We cannot compete sustainably for passengers, if, as a result of government intervention, non-European hubs benefit, thereby drawing passengers, cargo, employment and economic growth away from Europe.”
The airlines’ CEOs debated international trade rules which allowed for cut-price credit, underwritten by European taxpayers, for non-European airlines to buy aircraft with which to compete against their European counterparts.
Six months on from the atmospheric ash contamination which shut down the industry for ten days in spring, the Assembly reviewed the lessons learned and the level of preparedness for a similar occurrence.
“4.6 million passengers were unable to undertake their planned journeys in April, due to misguided government intervention”, said Mr Walsh. “We must have assurances that such disruption cannot happen again”.
The Assembly concluded that 2011 will determine whether the fragile recovery of the sector is sustainable. The AEA chiefs applauded the initiative of the Belgian Presidency of the EU in convening an Aviation Summit later this month, providing an opportunity to further develop the key themes which influence the sector’s contribution to European prosperity.
