Led by the US Business Travel Coalition (BTC) and under the banner of an initiative launched last year called OpenSkies.travel, the panel told journalists at the National Press Club in Washington DC Wednesday that the CEOs of the three major consolidated carriers, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, held "behind closed doors" meetings with White House and government officials recently.
Although the content of those meetings has not been made public, the BTC-led group believes the airline CEOs are looking to review Open Skies policy, arguing that growing competition from the three major Gulf carriers, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, is unfair.
A total of 114 Open Skies agreements have been signed since the first accord in 1982. But the three US major carriers, with the support of some labor groups, argue that they were forged before the extent of Gulf carrier expansion could have been imagined and allege that those Gulf carriers are heavily government subsidized.
BTC chairman Kevin Mitchell said the three major US airlines have “worked overtime” to communicate that they feel threatened by foreign carrier new entrants and disadvantaged by new customer-service oriented business models and airlines in which governments hold equity stakes.
“The overall impression is that the big US network airlines want to lock out independent airlines that offer lower fares, newer airplanes, faster connections, more destinations and better service,” Mitchell said.
He added that Open Skies policy had been “breathtakingly beneficial” for US consumers and businesses.
“While US major network carriers’ employees and shareholders are major beneficiaries of US Open Skies policy, today, we want to present the views of other important stakeholders who are concerned by perceived attempts to turn the clock back on market liberalization,” Mitchell said.
Also on the panel were Washington Airports Task Force president Keith Meurlin, US Travel Association domestic policy director Erik Hansen, former deputy assistant Secretary of State and now Norwegian Air International consultant John Byerly, and FedEx Express managing director, regulatory affairs, Nancy Sparks.
Sparks said that in FedEx’s view, “Open Skies is the corollary of aviation” and the company was “very concerned about the dark clouds and where they are coming from.”
Sparks added, “What we would like to see if for Open Skies agreements to continue unabated and our view on competition is ‘bring it on.’ Protectionism harms the consumer and in the long term the provider is also harmed.”
The Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) issued a statement today saying, “ALPA maintains that several Open Skies partner nations equip their airlines to do business globally through state policy and significant direct economic underwriting that undermines fair competition. Our union urges the US government to review existing Open Skies agreements to ensure that state support cannot distort a fair international marketplace to the detriment of US airlines and their workers.”
Mitchell countered that “the benefits of US Open Skies policy have been stunning for airlines’ shareholders and employees, for travel and tourism jobs, airports, cargo carrier customers, community and economic development and for consumers.”
He also said that if those benefits are threatened, the antitrust immunity granted to US airlines should be reconsidered. “The antidote to normally anti-consumer agreement among competitors is new entry. Antitrust immunity is serious business; airlines should not take it for granted. We do not need to return to the ‘Fortress America’ mindset of the 1990s,” he said.
(Karen Walker - ATWOnline News)
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