AEA slams rising fees for airlines

Carriers "ripped off for years" 

The Association of European Airlines (AEA) called for moderation of airport, security and air traffic control charges at its  Presidents' Assembly in Dubrovnik.

The organisation has called for a freeze on airport and Air Traffic Control (ATC) charges until the end of the current crisis in the aviation industry, which has seen a huge loss of traffic and revenues.

The AEA has predicted an operating loss of €2.9b in 2009 for its members, a figure 50% higher than the previous record loss in 2001.

The Assembly also agreed to continue to name and shame any service providers which used cost recovery as an excuse for fee increases.

According to the AEA, despite the economic downturn, airlines' external expenses have continued to increase, with costs outside the airlines' control now reaching almost two-thirds of total expenses.

Dr Ivan Misetic, the AEA's chairman, said: "We have been ripped off for years and the airports and air navigation service providers, still acting as uncontrolled monopolists in our competitive market, continue to push up their prices.

"During recent weeks we have seen major airports, national air traffic control providers and even the US health agency which inspects arriving flights proposing fee increases to compensate for lower traffic volumes."

The Assembly also called for the current suspension of the ‘use it or lose it' airport slot rule to be extended.

The current agreement is set to expire in two weeks, which could result in airlines flying empty planes in order to retain their valuable landing slots at busy airports such as Heathrow.

Mr Misetic said: "The summer cutbacks have allowed us to eliminate a million empty seats a month; in the absence of a waiver for the winter, we have a stark choice - put back that excess capacity, or risk our future product integrity."

Despite the current crisis, Mr Misetic vowed that the AEA member carriers would be at the forefront of future aviation.

"No longer will we respond to the title ‘legacy carriers," he said; "it is true that, collectively, we have the experience and the expertise, and this will place us at the forefront of the new order facing our industry."

He added: "The dimensions of this downturn are unprecedented. In the past 35 years we have not seen such devastation of value. And we will not return to ‘normal' again; the consumers are changing their expectations, and this will continue."

www.aea.be