The European Commission (EC) and the USA are blaming European governments for delaying progress on alliance deals.
The USA is considering proposed American Airlines/British Airways and United/BMI British Midland alliances together in the latest twist of the anti-trust immunity process.
Delta, Continental and Northwest have also called on the US Department of Transportation to hold a public hearing on the American/BA deal. The DoT must grant the airlines immunity from antitrust laws for the alliances to go-ahead.
Paul Gretch, director of the DoT Office of International Aviation, says the alliances will not be approved unless the UK agrees to US open skies proposals, and that European countries still feel "protective" towards their flag carriers, which restricts competition.
Loyola de Palacio, EC vice president responsible for transport, also blames European Union (EU) members for some of the problems. She says bilateral deals with the USA "are breaking the internal market and destroying the possibility of mergers and consolidation", but declines to comment on the prospects for the American/BA alliance. Onerous conditions set by the DoT and the EC caused the airlines to drop an earlier attempt to gain antitrust immunity.
However, Cap German Ernst & Young aviation analyst Nigel Wickins disagrees, blaming opposition by American's US competitors for the delay. That view is supported by American and BA, which told the DoT they believed their rivals were using delaying tactics.
Northwest, which proposed reviewing both cases together, a proposal which DoT accepted last week, cannot fly to Heathrow under the current bilateral agreement restricting access to the airport to American, BA, United and Virgin Atlantic. BMI, Continental, Delta and Northwest are all seeking to serve the airport.
Delta, which, along with its US rivals, serves London Gatwick, says the DoT needs to evaluate the alliances at the same time in order to see what the overall implications will be for US Heathrow consumers and would-be competitors. Similar arguments have been voiced by Virgin and the US airlines barred from Heathrow. The alliance partners have expressed disappointment with the ruling.
Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice is expected to strip EU states of negotiating rights on airline treaties early next year. Some EU members have unsuccessfully appealed to the EC to stop its legal challenges to existing bilateral treaties. The EC would then be legally able to negotiate an EU-wide open skies treaty with the USA. There are already open skies deals between the USA and some European states, most recently France. The EC taking over open skies negotiations has added urgency to UK-USA talks after years of foot-dragging.
Source: Flight International
