Julian Moxon/PARIS
Europe's air-transport liberalisation has resulted in cheaper fares, new airlines and more routes, but "-there is still room for improvement", says the European Commission (EC) in a report anticipating full liberalisation in April 1997.
The EC says that it remains concerned about "excessive" fares in some areas, quoting the example of London-Majorca, which is six times less expensive than Strasbourg-Vienna. While there is a "very encouraging beginning" for liberalisation, it says that the achievements need to be consolidated. The Commission also highlights the lack of transparency in the fare-setting system, and promises to investigate cases where fares seem particularly high.
Nevertheless, the EC claims that liberalisation is a success story, with the number of routes flown increasing from 490 to 520 since the programme began in 1993. There are now two carriers competing on 30%of the routes within the European Union and 6% are served by three, up from only 2% in 1993. The market has also seen the setting up of 80 new airline companies, but with the disappearance of 60, a proportion broadly in line with the US experience of deregulation.
Air fares fell on routes where at least three operators were present, says the EC. "These tend to be the largest in terms of traffic, and represent a substantial part of the market," it adds. Fares between Brussels and other European capital cities, and from London to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris, have fallen, as have tariffs on domestic routes in France, Germany and Spain.
The EC stresses that the lack of a sufficient air-transport infrastructure in Europe remains one of the main stumbling blocks to progress. "Congestion in the sky is putting a strain on air-traffic management," it says, and there are "potential problems" in terms of capacity restrictions on runways and at airport terminals. "The Commission will propose revisions to the slot-allocation regulations by the end of the year," it promises.
Full liberalisation in 1997, signals the moment when airlines can operate routes from any country in Europe to any other, free of restrictions. The EC says, however: "we will take action wherever justified to increase transparency and raise public awareness of the advantages created by liberalisation."
Source: Flight International
