charter airlines discriminated agiainst claims Gurassa

CHARTER airlines are unfairly discriminated against in the UK despite offering the most consumer protection, having high load factors and competitive prices.

TUI Northern Europe and TUI Airlines chairman Charles Gurassa made the claim in a scathing attack on the way charter airlines are regulated in this country.

Without a level playing field, charters could be forced to put up prices, he warned.

Gurassa attacked the current system that requires UK operators to pay for an ATOL not applicable to scheduled and no-frills carriers. TUI pays nearly £2 million a year for its ATOL.

“There is complete discrimination against the charter sector. We pay for customer protection, they do not. I’m all for customer protection but let’s have it in an even way,” he said.

“If EasyJet or British Airways sells a flight to Malaga, then a hotel on top, the package is not protected. We fly to the same places and they are increasingly selling the same ground products, yet we pay millions of pounds to ensure customers are protected.”

No-frills airlines must be licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority to enter the market but do not offer any protection against insolvency.

Gurassa also attacked unfair slot allocations for charter aircraft at Heathrow and Gatwick.

“The slot rules favour those who offer consistent daily services at certain times even though we are flying full aircraft,” he said.

He predicted that by 2010, Heathrow and Gatwick will be turning away around 34 million passengers a year due to increasing demand and lack of capacity, which will further “squeeze out” the charter airlines.

* Charter airline Britannia has been forced to reduce the amount of seats with extra legroom because customers are not prepared to pay extra for it. Economy-plus seats were simply not important to customers, said Gurassa.