Failure by European governments to take action over air traffic control (ATC) congestion on the continent could have an adverse impact on potential sales of 70-seat regional jets, according to Fairchild Dornier senior vice president sales and marketing Barry Eccleston.
Fairchild believes that passenger preference for more point-to-point flights bypassing major hubs will translate into strong airline demand for 70-seaters in the region, but warns that en route slot congestion threatens to constrain airlines' ability to offer such services.
"The early market for 70-seaters is going to be in Europe," says Eccleston. "Here the 70-seater is in its element, but there is a constraint - ATC," he adds.
The manufacturer forecasts a market for 2,513 aircraft in the 70-seat category over the next 20 years, of which 966 are expected to be sold to European customers.
The European regional market has the potential to grow by 8-9% annually in terms of revenue passenger kilometres over the next five years, "but we all know it's going to take more than five years to fix the [ATC] system", he says. "ATC is probably the single biggest threat to sales today," he adds.
Source: Flight International
