(Bonn) At its bi-annual meeting of ECTAA on 1 and 2 June 2006, the ECTAA Members reviewed the most challenging issues facing the trade in the coming years in terms of European air transport legislation. ECTAA’s priority is to guarantee a level playing field for travel agents and tour operators.
On behalf of the European Commission’s Directorate General Transport and Energy, Mr. Frank Laurent gave a presentation on the future EU legislation aimed at completing the liberalisation of air transport in the EU. ECTAA is pleased that two major concerns for travel agents and tour operators will be addressed in European legislations, notably:
· The equal access to air fares for all consumers and travel agents irrespective of their place of residency or establishment and
· The requirement for airlines to publish air fares including all taxes, fees and charges in order to make prices more transparent.
Mr. Laurent also presented the latest developments in terms of the long announced revision of the CRS code of conduct. ECTAA welcomes the Commission decision to carry out a complementary impact assessment, which will look into the options of varying degrees of simplification of the existing rules or, worst case scenario for the trade, a complete deregulation of the market.
Said ECTAA President Mr. Jan Van Steen: “The impact assessment is of paramount importance in order to take into account the risks that partial or full deregulation of the CRS market will have on travel agents and customers”. He reiterated ECTAA’s position, which calls for:
· Maintenance of the rule on mandatory participation in all CRSs of carriers holding shares in a CRS in order to avoid abuse of dominant position of CRSs and their parent carriers in certain markets;
· Prevent discrimination against CRSs and travel agents in terms of access to air fares and inventory;
· Removal of any travel agents’ identification from marketing information tapes sold to airlines, which lay open travel agents’ commercial information to airlines.
Date of publication: 08/06/06