Commission’s proposal is in the narrow commercial interest

A European Commission proposal to help struggling airlines triggered a clash on Tuesday between big carriers and low-cost carriers, which dismissed the proposal as a protectionist ploy, The Financial Times reported.
At the dispute’s centre is a proposal by Antonio Tajani, European transport commissioner, temporarily to suspend rules that oblige airlines to fly their routes at least 80 per cent of the time or risk losing them.
Mr Tajani has proposed suspension of the rule between March 29 and October 24. The proposal would give airlines flexibility to cancel lightly booked flights without sacrificing slots.
The Commission has suspended the rules before: after the September 11 2001 terror attacks and the Sars health crisis in 2003.
The move was welcomed by the Association of European Airlines, which represents carriers including British Airways and Lufthansa, which are suffering sharp declines in passenger traffic. But some smaller airlines criticised the proposal as an attempt to block their expansion plans and said it would lead to a reduction in flights.
“The Commission’s proposal is anti-consumer and only in the narrow commercial interest of a handful of ailing flag-carriers,” said Andy Harrison, chief executive of EasyJet.
EasyJet opposed previous suspensions of the so-called “use-or-lose” rule. However, Toby Nicol, a company spokesman, said those cases were defensible because they were triggered by extraordinary events as opposed to “the general ebb and flow of the economy”.
Mr Nicol said EasyJet would appeal to the Competition Commission on the grounds that the proposal violated state aid rules. He argued it was geared, in particular, to protect Alitalia, the struggling Italian carrier which has more than 600 slots at Rome’s airport.
Mr Tajani’s office declined to comment on EasyJet’s complaints.
 

Source: Transportweekly