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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 0068.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT European Commission maintains pressure BRUSSELS ^ The European Commission is "not overjoyed, but reason ably pleased" with the devel opments at the European Council of Transport minis ters and among the European Community's airlines, as they prepare for a more liberal air transport market. The Commission had threatened legal action against three airlines for a lack of willingness to compete, it says. The three, Alitalia, Lufthansa, and Olympic, have now "opened discussions" with the Commission. The Commis sion says: "We cannot prejudge whether they are going down our road because they are conditioned by their governments and the constraints the governments are willing to relax". The governments, however, through the Council of Trans port Ministers, have started to agree on more competition, accepting that "off-peak fares should be available to every one," according to the UK's Aviation Minister, Michael Spicer. They have agreed that discount fares (between 90 per cent and 65 per cent of the normal economy fare) and deep discount fares (between 65 per cent and 45 per cent of the normal economy fare) should be available in off- peak periods. It was also agreed that capacity sharing should be allowed the flexi bility of 40-60 shares (instead of rigid 50-50) within three years, with the Commission having the sole right to block this in individual cases. The Commission is making a two-pronged attack against airline restrictive practices. With most Community governments having a stake in the national airlines, it says it is "putting pressure on the governments by putting pres sure on the airlines". It appre ciates that legal proceedings against an airline will take a long time, perhaps two or three years. Even then, the Court may only direct the ATP out in the cold British Aerospace's ATP (Advanced Turboprop) has now completed its cold weather trials, which it carried out at Rovaniemi, Northern Finland, and Tromso, Northern Norway. Opera tions were carried out in temperatures as low as -24°C. Two ATPs are currently involved in the type's test programme, which will lead to certification by the end of July this year. airlines to take action "as soon as possible," or rule that the Council of Ministers must pass "more detailed" legis lation which delays any action further, it says. The Council of Ministers has been taken to the Euro pean Court before, as have the national governments, and the Commission says that "we may be forced to turn our attack on to the Governments if there is no movement from the Council". The Commission is edging towards using its legal powers, but recognises that a negotiated settlement would be best for all concerned. Though agreement is forth coming on fares and capacity sharing, access to the market is still not open enough on many routes, the Commission says. Furthermore, fifth- freedom rights still remain to be worked out. The Commu nity has 37 routes on which fifth-freedom rights are being exercised within it, but only one of them by a com munity carrier, Commissioner Sutherland says. Ireland and Denmark are two countries particularly interested in extending this. The Commission has given the Council of Ministers until its next meeting in June to come up with a "credible" and "acceptable" proposal for liberalising European avia tion. If this is not achieved, legal action will follow, it says. TV pays for spy aircraft allegation LONDON UK's Thames Television paid a "substantial sum" to Korean Air on Wednesday in the wake of its programme about the airline's Boeing 747 being shot down by the Russians in August 1983, the airline reveals. The programme, "007— licensed to spy" branded the KAL flight 007 shot down off the Russian coast as a "spy plane", according to the airline. Stephen Gates for KAL said in the High Court: "It is hardly necessary to state that there was not a word of truth in the suggestion that my client's aircraft was on a spy mission". Thames says that the "substantial" damages pay ment was £4,000, and states that it does not accept that the programme was defama tory. The television company said that its film "explored the possible basis for the theory that the Korean jumbo jet did not stray off course accidentally". Thames states that it made the payment into Court "with the sole aim of avoiding lengthy proceedings which would have proved exces sively costly to both sides," and maintains that it is still in the public interest to investigate the matter thoroughly. Swissair chooses P&WforMD-ll HARTFORD Pratt & Whitney (P&W) has received its first order to power the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 with its PW4000 turbofan engine. Swissair has placed an order worth about $470 million for the six aircraft which it has on order, plus options on a further 12. P&W says the possible 69-engine order is one of the largest commercial- aircraft engine orders it has had this year. All other engines so far ordered for the MD-11 have been General Electric, but Swissair's fleet is entirely P&W powered, and this new order maintains common ality of engine supplier. The 50,000-60,0001b-thrust engines will be delivered starting in 1990. Rolls-Royce is not offering an engine for the MD-11 until the uprated RB.211-700 is available in the early 1990s (Flight, April 4, page 2). FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 11 April 1987
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