COPA Airlines of Panama is appealing to the US Department of Transport (DoT) to allow it to continue its codesharing agreement with Continental Airlines despite the recent downgrading of the country's safety oversight rating to Category 2 by the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Under the current ruling, codeshare agreements with US registered airlines are forfeited or suspended once the FAA safety rating drops below Category 1.
Pedro Heilbron, COPA chief executive, says: "We are talking to the DoT right now. We feel part of the actions are unfair, and if the FAA is interested in safety, rescinding a codeshare does not promote this."
COPA argues that safety standards are more likely to suffer as a result of the FAA action because it will mean the termination of Continental's annual safety audit of the Panamanian carrier. This is performed by the US airline as part of the codeshare agreement. The downgrading was initiated under the FAA's International Air Safety Assessment programme.
The biggest effects on COPA says Heibron are loss of revenue with the ending of the codeshare, and loss of image. According to FAA rules, no foreign carrier operating to the USA from a Category 2 country is allowed to add new frequencies to or destinations in the USA. "This has a zero effect as we have no plans to add routes over the next 24 months," says Heilbron.
COPA also cannot add new aircraft on the US routes, requiring that the airline's four Boeing 737-700s, being delivered from April 2002, be restricted to non-US routes.
Source: Flight International
