The big five launch "Airlines for Europe" (A4E)

[sn26567]

The 'big five' have launched a new airline association in Amsterdam today (one more!): "Airlines for Europe" (A4E)

https://www.aviation24.be/organisations/ai ... urope-a4e/

The Lufthansa Group is part of this association (Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Germanwings and Eurowings), together with Ryanair, easyJet, Air France-KLM (with Transavia) and IAG (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling). But what about Brussels Airlines?

As a reminder, AEA still exists and its communication officer is Geert Sciot, VP Comm of Brussels Airlines.

[sn26567]

Another strange thing: this morning, on the eve of the EU Aviation Summit, the five European airspace user associations (AEA, EBAA, EEA, ELFAA, ERA and IACA *) were urging the Dutch Presidency to strengthen the European Commission’s Aviation Strategy in a common press release. See:

https://www.aviation24.be/organisations/er ... -strategy/

The newly-created A4E did not sign this call. Why? Not interested in an EU aviation strategy? Or will it be the big 5 against all the others?

* AEA (Association of European Airlines), EBAA (European Business Aviation Association), EEA (European Express Association) ELFAA (European Low Fares Airline Association), ERA (European Regions Airline Association), IACA (International Air Carrier Association)

[RoMax]

As far as I know A4E is not fully established (and definitely not operational) yet as an association and therefore not part of this group that made a common statement.

It's not a matter of them against the rest, after all it's not about the associations as entities on their own, but about their 'shareholders' so to say (being the airlines, the members). The launching members of A4E are also still members of AEA and ELFAA and as long as they are, these associations speak in their name (and therefore say the same things as A4E would, basically combining the membership of AEA and ELFAA).

But expect some big changes in the association landscape throughout the year (especially related to AEA, ELFAA and probably IACA), once A4E gets fully established and operational as a real association.

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Brussels Airport CEO Arnaud Feist describes new A4E association as looking a bit like Alice in Wonderland with Michael O'Leary as the rabbit

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Immediately after the launch of A4E, the Airports Council International (ACI) starts a bitter war of words and disputes the claims of A4E that airport charges are too high.

http://www.aircargonews.net/news/airlin ... ation.html

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In addition to the "Big Five", two smaller airlines have now decided to join A4E: Finnair and Norwegian.

Finnair is also a member of AEA, and Norwegian a member of ELFAA. Will they retain those memberships?

[Passenger]

Official foundation act:

http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/tsv_pd ... 052340.pdf

(FR only)

[Passenger]

Jet2.com joins A4E.

Source: Luchtvaartnieuws.nl:
http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nieuws/c ... for-europe

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Two Star Alliance airlines now also join A4E: Aegean Airlines and TAP Portugal. Thus A4E has now grown from 5 to 11 members: the 5 founders Air France-KLM, UK budget carrier easyJet, International Airlines Group, Lufthansa Group and Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair. And later Finnair, UK leisure airline Jet2.com, Norwegian, Spanish budget carrier Volotea, Aegean Airlines and TAP Portugal

Since Lufthansa is one of the founding members, when will be the turn of Brussels Airlines?

I still fail to see the added value of A4E compared to AEA and the other associations...

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The low-cost carrier lobbying group European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) is shutting its doors because of defections to the new cross-industry group Airlines for Europe (A4E). ELFAA was effectively moth-balled on Aug. 31 with the departure of secretary-general John Hanlon, and the association’s formal withdrawal from external communication. ELFAA will be formally closed at a later date.

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airBaltic has decided to also join Airlines for Europe.

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Icelandic carrier Icelandair joins Airlines for Europe as 13th member.

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As expected after the launch of A4E:

European airline association AEA closes down

European network carrier lobby group the Association of European Airlines (AEA) will close, effective immediately, after many members joined the new cross-industry group Airlines for Europe (A4E).

AEA will become the second European airline association to close in 2016, following in the footsteps of low-cost carrier body European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA), which ceased activities Aug. 31.

“During its Presidents’ Assembly meeting of Nov. 22, 2016, the AEA member airlines discussed the evolution of the aviation representation landscape in Europe. It was decided that the AEA will cease all its public activities with immediate effect. The association will be dissolved no later than the end of this year,” AEA said in a statement.

Historically, four main associations have represented European airlines. AEA acted for the continent’s network airlines, ELFAA was the low-cost carrier body, the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) is the voice of the leisure carriers and the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) represents the regionals.

AEA’s website shows it representing 22 European network carriers, carrying 310 million passengers annually, but it is understood that a number of these members have decided to leave the association. Many have opted to join A4E, which opened in January with the backing of five major European airline groups: Air France-KLM; easyJet; International Airlines Group (IAG); Lufthansa Group; and Ryanair. Since then, A4E has signed up a number of other European airline members.

Speaking at an event in London in September, A4E managing director Thomas Reynaert said: “We will go very quickly from 11 to 20 members over the next couple of months, resulting in the closing down of the other associations.” While he referred to 11 members, A4E comprises a number of airline groups, so it actually represented 22 individual airlines at the time. Together, these airlines equate to 60% of European passenger journeys, 500 million passengers and €97 billion ($109 billion) in annual turnover.

“We are a hybrid airline association [representing all airline business models], so we reflect reality better than the old associations,” Reynaert said. “The others are non-existent or dying very quickly.”

AEA’s closure marks the end of a 64-year history. In 1952, four airlines—Air France, KLM, Sabena and Swissair—formed a joint research office that became known as the Air Research Bureau. They were then joined by British European Airways—one of the forerunners of British Airways—and SAS Scandinavian Airlines. Later, the group became the European Airlines Research Bureau, before rebranding as AEA in 1973.

“AEA has notched up many pioneering achievements. The association initiated developments which led to the Amadeus and Galileo computer reservations systems and the magstripe technology for the application of automatic ticket and boarding pass printers. The very topical issue of the need for an integrated European ATC network was first pinpointed by the AEA with its ‘Single Sky for Europe’ campaign, way back in 1988. AEA’s expert guidance was extremely influential in the formulation of the liberalized Single Market for air transport in the 1990s, and the EU-US Open Skies Agreement of the 2000s,” AEA said.

Source: ATWonline

RIP AEA, of which Sabena was one of the four founding members.

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Airlines for Europe announces that Cargolux (Luxembourg) joined the airline association s the first full cargo airline.

[Passenger]

Official "the end" for AEA - Association of European Airlines:

Belgium's State Gazette 22/02/2017:
http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/tsv_pd ... 029018.pdf

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Official "the end" for AEA - Association of European Airlines:

Belgium's State Gazette 22/02/2017:
http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/tsv_pd ... 029018.pdf

What a surprise!!!

[Passenger]

Official "the end" for AEA - Association of European Airlines:

Belgium's State Gazette 22/02/2017:
http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/tsv_pd ... 029018.pdf

What a surprise!!!

See previous post from 29 Nov 2016 - André. My post above is just the publication of the official decision in the Moniteur belge - Belgisch Staatsblad.

[Boeing767copilot]

Airlines join forces and rebrand their Brussels-based association as AIRE
Brussels, 13 June 2017
Today, 19 airlines have decided to join forces under a new name.
LOT Polish Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines and the 16 members of the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) have officially transformed the association into the Airlines International Representation in Europe (“AIRE”) that will offer airlines a more effective representation, information and access to the European institutions.
The strong membership of AIRE urges the European institutions to speed up the delivery of a far more cost-effective business environment for airlines.
Gunther Hofman, President of AIRE and Managing Director of TUIfly Benelux stated: “The Association’s focus remains the implementation of an efficient economic regulation of monopolistic service providers, as well as ensuring good rule-making in Europe. AIRE will bring its recognised expertise into the decision-making process”.
Rafal Milczarski, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines and newly appointed Vice-President of AIRE added: “We are creating AIRE as a new power to be a link to the European institutions for all airlines developing their business to the economic benefits of the European Union. All Members of AIRE share our vision concerning market access, efficiency of operations as well as the relationship between airlines and their monopolistic service providers. We want to assure, that all airlines from Europe have a level playing field”.
Ahmet Bolat, Chief Investment and Technology Officer of Turkish Airlines commented: “We join AIRE as it constitutes our fit-for-purpose representation in the European arena, with a cost-driven agenda and a hands-on approach on issues that must be dealt with on an EU level”.
Yuri Miroshnikov, CEO of Ukraine International Airlines said:” We share the same legitimate interest to benefit from an optimal European operating environment and will be happy to join forces with other airlines through a common platform”.
Sylviane Lust, Director General of AIRE, concluded: “We are delighted to announce today that 19 carriers team up to form a strong airline association. Together, we carry a significant weight in terms of passengers, staff, fleet and destinations. As such, our reinforced grouping of airlines will work together with the EU decision-makers to ensure that efficiency and costs are better taken into account in aviation policies.”
Rafal Milczarski, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines will succeed Gunther Hofman as President of AIRE at the end of this year.

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A4E was going to replace all other European airline associations. Well it is apparently far from becoming true! This shows clearly that some (smaller) airlines cannot live together under the rule of the larger ones!