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19-Jun-2015 6:29 AM

Air France-KLM 'fully supports' position of US carriers regarding Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways

Air France-KLM highlighted (18-Jun-2015) "its views regarding the regulatory framework in which airline competition ought to take place" in a submission to the US Department of Transportation. The company stated it supports the views of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, adding that "unless the Department urgently takes measures, the US industry will in a few years be confronted with the situation that the EU industry is currently facing." Air France-KLM stated: "Air France KLM fully supports the approach suggested by AA, DL and UA that, in the framework of the US open skies agreements with the UAE and Qatar, bilateral consultations are being held at the earliest allowing (1) these countries to fully disclose the audited financial statements of their carriers as well as of all the government-owned entities providing goods and services to these carriers (2) the USG to be in position to determine whether the principle of fair and equal opportunities to compete is actually abided by and, if needed, take appropriate measures to guarantee in the long run a level playing field." Air France-KLM added: "Air France KLM also believes that, as the Gulf carriers are already impacting the partnerships between EU and US airlines and are already directly (by using available fifth freedom traffic rights) or indirectly participating in the EU-US market, this issue should be discussed in the framework of the US-EU Bilateral Air Services Agreement with the objective of defining a coordinated approach in order to safeguard the benefits of the ground-breaking US-EU agreement." [more - original PR]

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