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AS a
precondition to the full liberalization of the local
aviation industry, Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Monday
asked for the removal of all forms of government
subsidies to airlines from other countries.
The
subsidies and all other forms of state aid “can
seriously distort competition,” said the flag carrier in
a statement.
PAL is
the only private-sector flag carrier in the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Except for PAL, all
Asean flag carriers are either fully or partially owned
or subsidized by their governments.
Lucio
Tan-controlled PAL insists that if Asean wants to
liberalize the airline industry to encourage tourism
growth, governments must first withdraw all subsidies to
their flag carriers for the sake of fair competition.
PAL said
if Asean member-countries want to establish a free
market within the region, a level playing field must
first be created by eliminating the undue advantage of
carriers who are subsidized by their respective
governments.
Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai
Airways International and Malaysian Airlines are known
to have received government subsidies. Several airlines,
the most vocal of which was Australia’s flag carrier
Qantas, pushed for a ban on unfair subsidies enjoyed by
these carriers.
Air
France also questioned the dramatic growth of Emirates,
flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, which is
100-percent owned by the Dubai government.
Asean
member-countries agreed in 2004 to adopt open skies in
the region, beginning with unlimited flights between
Asean capital cities by December 2008.
PAL said
it is ready to compete, but in an “open skies” regime
that endorses “equal opportunity.”
PAL has
submitted its position to the Philippine government for
proposal to other Asean governments in ongoing regional
multilateral air traffic rights negotiations.
According to PAL, unfair advantage of state-supported
carriers had repeatedly been criticized in the past.
Qantas previously attacked foreign governments for
unfairly subsidizing their airlines that operate in
Australia. Lufthansa, likewise, hit back at the undue
incentives given to the competition and called for a
subsidy ban.
PAL said
the European Union Commission recently investigated
foreign carriers that received state aid, resulting in
unfair pricing practices. |
