<B> Washington Wire</B>
By Barbara Cook, Washington Correspondent
<B>Carriers Attack AA-BA</B>
Six U.S. carriers last week jointly petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation to dismiss the controversial application of American Airlines and British Airways for antitrust immunity for their planned alliance, arguing that it no longer represents the airlines' current plans. Continental, Delta, Tower, TWA, United and US Airways officials noted that after the failure of U.S.-U.K. aviation talks last month, BA and AA indicated publicly that they might phase in their alliance, beginning with codesharing, rather than wait for government approval of the proposal. In their pleading, the six airlines said AA and BA are more interested in protecting their dominance at London's Heathrow Airport than they are in implementing their alliance.
<a name="2"><B>EU Sues Members Over Open Skies Deals</B>
The European Commission is charging eight European Union member states--Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and the United Kingdom--with having illegally concluded separate open skies aviation agreements with the United States to the detriment of a single, pan-European air market.
According to a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman, the U.S. strategy has been to pursue independent open skies agreements in Europe since the EU has been attempting unsuccessfully since 1995 to develop a concensus to negotiate as a single entity.
"We can't sit on our hands and do nothing," the official said. If and when the EU is prepared to negotiate as a single body with the United States toward open skies, the official stressed that the United States will not move backward, and "anything we have achieved so far will remain in effect." U.S. officials have been advised that the commission's case is expected to be in court for several years.
<a name="3"><B>FAA Certifies First New Entrant Carrier</B>
Shuttle America, a new commuter airline based at Bradley International Airport, is the first new entrant carrier to be certified by FAA's national Certification, Standardization and Evaluation Team, which was established earlier this year.
CSET is part of FAA's stepped-up air carrier inspection program that focuses on the 10 major airlines and new entrant carriers. This special team standardizes procedures for issuing original certificates and follow-up evaluation for carriers operating aircraft with a seating capacity for 10 or more passengers. Under the new FAA program, a certificate management team also has been assigned to Shuttle America to monitor and evaluate the carrier's progress in the area of compliance and safety.
Shuttle America will initially operate two turboprop Dash 8 aircraft on routes from Windsor Locks, Conn., to Buffalo and Wilmington, Del.
<a name="4"><B>U.S., Canada Negotiate Air Liberalization</B>
Aviation negotiators from the United States and Canada met this month in Ottawa to discuss ways to further liberalize the bilateral the two countries signed in 1995. A spokesperson for the U.S. delegation said the talks were cordial and productive, and the two countries will meet again in the spring of next year. On the table for negotiation will be a discussion of ways to remove restrictions on carrier services to third countries, a review of Canadian airport user fees for U.S. carriers and further liberalizations in charters and cargo operations. The 1995 air services agreement, while greatly liberalizing aviation services between the two countries, stops short of being an open skies accord.