Passengers using all modes of public transport should be treated fairly and equally under European law.…
Passengers using all modes of public transport should be treated fairly and equally under European law. This was the crux of the message from the European Regions Airline Association (
Olaf Dlugi, a member of the ERA Board and President of Augsburg Airways in Germany, was presenting the outline of the European voluntary Airline Passenger Service Commitment, which was drawn up after discussion with consumer representatives and other airline associations. The ERA Board has recommended to its airline members that they consider the Passenger Service Commitment for their own individual action. Dlugi pointed out, however, that many of ERA`s airlines already offer many of the provisions it contains and many will also continue to choose to exceed some of the standards set out, in order to compete more vigorously for customers.
The voluntary agreement is a response to the European Commission`s proposals on Air Passenger Rights, which aim to revise existing measures for ensuring protection of airline passengers. ERA, while wishing to further advance the benefits available to air passengers, has criticised the proposals, saying that air passengers are already better protected than passengers on other transport modes, and that any proposals which single out air transport are therefore anti-competitive.
The following factors, which only apply to air transport, were highlighted by Dlugi to illustrate this point:
Airlines and their passengers pay for the full costs of the infrastructure that they use
Many of Europe`s air passengers are taxed to a greater extent than those on other modes of transport
European law establishes a minimum level of compensation for air passengers in the event of an accident or incident
Passengers using public transport should be secure in the knowledge that they are treated equally and fairly under European law no matter how they are travelling. Discriminatory taxation should not be permitted, stated Dlugi.
Dlugi pointed out that one of the key expectations of passengers is to arrive at their destination on time. However, over the past 4 years inadequate growth in infrastructure has caused over half of Europe`s flight delays. Dlugi expressed ERA`s concern that until Europe`s ATM providers and European states take action to increase capacity, airlines will be powerless to meet this basic passenger requirement.
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