DOT To FAA: Assess Safety Of Foreign Codeshare Partners

<B> DOT To FAA: Assess Safety Of Foreign Codeshare Partners</B>

By Barbara Cook

<I>Washington</I> - The Federal Aviation Administration should initiate a safety assessment of foreign carriers that code share with U.S. airlines, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General.

"Until recently, most international codeshare agreements were with well known, well-established carriers with safety records similar to those of U.S. carriers," the IG said. "However, with the growth in codeshare and alliance agreements, U.S. carriers are now partnering with carriers from other regions of the world where aviation safety oversight and safety records are not as strong as those of the United States."

Specifically, the IG said, codeshare agreements at one time were primarily with countries in Western Europe, where carrier safety standards are similar to the United States. However, U.S. carriers now are forming alliances worldwide, the IG said.

In 1994, for example, U.S. carriers had 10 codeshare agreements with Asian carriers. That figure has risen to 50, and "accident rates in Asia are four times higher than in the United States," the IG said.

While DOT has formed a working group to consider whether safety factors should be an element in the department's approval process for codeshare agreements between U.S. and international carriers, the department so far has focused only on the economic and competitive aspects of these pacts. The IG agreed with FAA's position that it doesn't have the resources to undertake such safety reviews and, in fact, has no authority under U.S. law or international treaties to evaluate the safety of foreign airlines.


<B>Safety First</B>

However, the IG said that the legal situation is changed in a codeshare situation because federal law requires that safety be a chief concern in approving such partnerships. "Just as codeshare agreements and airline alliances changed international air travel and relationships between airlines, FAA must refine its oversight practices to meet changes in the industry," said the IG.

The report noted that Korean Airlines and China Airlines have been dropped by their U.S. partners due to their poor safety records. However, Thai Airways, with five crashes in the past decade and 215 deaths, remains a codeshare partner of United Airlines and a participant in the Star Alliance. "While an accident alone does not mean a carrier is unsafe, accidents can be indicators of safety problems," the IG said. "Determining that foreign codeshare partners have safe operations is critical and should be addressed by both the Department of Transportation and U.S. carriers."

FAA could maximize its resources by duplicating a codeshare safety review program now being developed by the Defense Department and six major U.S. airlines--American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, TWA and United, the report suggested. Under that program, the six airlines will assess the safety of their codeshare partners and report back to DOD.

"We believe the answer to this is that U.S. carriers seeking approval for a codeshare agreement can reasonably be expected to perform most of the work and provide FAA assurances that the foreign carrier that will operate as a U.S. flight is compliant with applicable safety requirements," the report said. "FAA can build on the DOD process and must now step up and take a leadership role in ensuring that safety is adequately considered as a condition of initial and continued approval for international codeshare agreements."

FAA now assesses only whether foreign countries whose carriers fly to the United States have civil aviation oversight agencies that meet safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.