Etihad ramps up charm offensive over Euro open skies review
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UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways has urged the European Commission to embrace “bold, exciting and world-leading reforms” as part of the Strategic Aviation Package to overhaul Europe’s air transport industry.
In a detailed submission to the Commission, the airline advocates greater competition and consumer choice and eases restrictions on market access and investments by non-European airlines.
In a statement, the airline said: “We welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important process, given our significant operations into Europe and our investments in a number of European carriers. We believe that this gives us a unique perspective on the current regulatory environment in Europe, as well as a sense of what needs to change in order to ensure a vibrant and competitive industry in the future.
“The Strategic Aviation Package proposed by the European Commission represents a significant ‘window of opportunity’ to strengthen the European air transport sector as an economic and social enabler, and a key driver of growth, through bold, exciting and world-leading initiatives which improve the efficiency of the industry and increase global flight connectivity.”
The airline and its Gulf allies Emirates and Qatar Airways have been embroiled in an increasingly bitter war of words with US and European airlines, which have lobbied their respective governments in a bid to curtail their pitch for new landing slots being granted to the Gulf airlines in their respective countries.
The US and European carriers, which include Lufthansa, Delta, and United, have also claimed the Gulf carriers receive ‘unfair’ subsidies from their respective governments, creating an uneven playing field in the market.
Etihad Airways’ petition proposed nine steps:
- Put competition and consumers at the forefront of policy development;
- Think globally, not locally;
- Ensure that connectivity is at the heart of EU aviation and transport policy;
- Support innovation in business models, and not artificially constrain them;
- Promote transparency, efficiency and legal certainty in order to attract external investment;
- Take a holistic approach to security;
- Tackle regulatory obstacles and infrastructure inefficiencies, and fully reflect Better Regulation practices;
- Encourage structural reforms in the air transport industry, and;
- Promote open skies.
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