A cornucopia of news, opinion, views, facts and quirky bits that need to be talked about. Join our community and join in the conversation on all matters aviation. The blog includes our weekly round-up of the bits of European aviation you may otherwise have missed – That Was The Week That Was
Nationalism is back on the agenda everywhere. Try as President Trump may claim credit for what he would surely see as a Good Thing (and the rest of us may see differently), yet again aviation was there first, bigly. The best first; more first than anyone else’s first; the most first; etc. Aviation was doing nationalism in 1944 and we have not stopped since. And what a week it has been for nationalism.
Monday saw the publication of a tweet from a pro-remain UK MP that analysed state aid spending in Europe. And the winner is… Germany. Yes, that Germany. Who knew? So now we have pro-remainers arguing that staying in the EU will not stop more state aid being handed out to UK companies. Cool. That sounds like a compelling reason to stay. Oh, and to argue that you are totally for fair competition in aviation – to be fair, it is Lufthansa that wants that, not the UK pro-remain MP.
Tuesday was the third anniversary of the start of the campaign by the US carriers against the nasty state aid riddled Gulf carriers. This is the campaign launched by the airlines that regularly trouser whatever the tax payers will give them – with, or without, their consent. This is the unfair competition brigade, riding to the rescue of the airlines. It has all the cultural sensitivity of a 30s western. Do as I say, not as I do…
At their annual reception at the European Parliament, the ACI team was pushing the barrow as well. Yes, they want fair competition and acknowledge that it is hard to define, but they do not want the new replacement to the never-used Regulation 868 to be the last bastion of the rogue. Then followed a long list of definition terms, just to help the Commission on its way. The airlines are more than happy for the Commission to be on this way, because that is likely to keep them out of the airports’ way and discussing revisions to the charges. The airports seem to be playing a game of double dare: you can have one or the other airlines. 868 or charges. Feeling lucky, punk?
Brexit too was on the agenda – the airports are against it, on the whole. The UK airports cannot work out why the airports that depend on UK tourists every summer are not screaming, but maybe that is just testament to the power of the airlines to keep the focus on denying the UK carriers traffic rights. By the end of the week, rumours were flying that the EU would not allow the UK access to EASA. To be fair, this was a storm in a tea-cup. The UK cannot be a member, just like Switzerland cannot be a member. But it can attend, and speak, and (as is the case for Switzerland) be very influential. It just cannot vote. Not much of a story then.
It should also be noted that both IATA and A4E also had events on Tuesday, but they were private, exclusive events … which explains why they tweeted about them.
On to Thursday, and the announcement that Airlines for America, or A4A as they want you to know them if you are illiterate, is now going cap in hand for Government help to untangle the jet fuel supply market. To be fair, this is not direct cash, but it is a very friendly reminder that the freedom loving airlines of the home of the brave are very happy to invite their big brother to fight. Not protectionism, you understand; much more stand over than that.
More importantly, in the European Parliament, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs invited a number of experts in to talk about the proposed replacement of 868. Don’t be hasty, was the message. This is more complex than you might have been led to believe, the experts said. Economic imperialism was also mentioned. Right, said the Committee, certainly, said the Committee, which then proceeded to ignore the entire session and do what the airlines wanted.
Enter IATA, keen also to further the protectionist cause. IATA has abandoned the Single European Sky, so now its strategy is divide and conquer. A nation-by-nation approach to reworking airspace. This week, Italy is the lucky winner of the benefit of IATA’s opinion. We are at the ridiculous point in time when European member states refuse to work together, but are happy to work alone…
Speaking of which, by Friday, Mr Trump was doing his version of charm in Davos, reminding the world that America must come first – the lead country in the open skies initiative preaching protectionism, which made the announcement out of Africa, that African states are going to create a single African Aviation Area, all the more ironic.
