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COPYRIGHT 2001 Reed Business Information Ltd.
Few issues in the European aviation industry have proved as contentious or as long-running as that of slot reform. This is perhaps not surprising given the scarcity of capacity at most of the region's airports. New entrants regularly complain that they are finding it impossible to gain a foothold against the entrenched national carriers, while even the most conservative of observers acknowledge that current regulations are in need of updating for the post-deregulation era.
The European Commission (EC) last ruled on slots back in 1993 when regulation 95/93 effectively adopted the guidelines for slot allocation already laid out by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). A full review was promised within two years, but has consistently failed to materialise, despite occasional pressure from the Netherlands and the UK, the two strongest proponents of reform.
At the core is the old issue of how to tackle "grandfather" rights - whereby carriers simply hang on to the slots that they used the previous season. Although this pragmatic system avoids answering any difficult questions over slot ownership or fair competition, it does at least work, as the the incumbent flag carriers are always keen to point out. In any case, as the main beneficiaries they have little interest in supporting radical reform.
Yet last summer, Loyola de Palacio became the latest European transport commissioner to set out new proposals which could begin to nibble away at the grandfather principle. Airlines were angered by the timing, which fell in the peak holiday period. Some saw...
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