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EU network airlines: a vital pillar of Europe’s society and strategic autonomy

EU network airlines play a vital role in Europe’s society. They unite people, cultures, and economies, serving as a catalyst for economic growth and prosperity through the promotion of trade and tourism. EU network airlines, with their hubs in Europe, serve the EU’s strategic interests by ensuring intra-European and global connectivity both for people and goods. Their hub-and-spoke model enables a large network of connections, ensuring that even the most remote European cities and regions can be fully connected to a multitude of destinations across Europe and the world.  

ENAA members stand in fierce competition with low-cost carriers and non-EU carriers, which are often state-owned and subsidised, or benefit from competitive advantages due a more favourable regulatory framework. While the EU’s legislative landscape should safeguard and promote the competitiveness of European industries, the opposite is currently true.

The EU network carriers therefore decided to step forward and have their voice heard publicly and offer partnership with the EU institutions to build together smart legislation that focusses on connectivity and the benefits for consumers, and at the same time, creates new opportunities for EU industry. 

ENAA members are committed to an open market for aviation, with fair and open competition as an integral part of that. The EU’s external aviation policy should ensure to the greatest extent possible a level playing field for EU carriers.

In order to maintain strong, comprehensive and mutually beneficial aviation relations between the EU and non-EU regions, the EU should address and enforce the regulatory conditions necessary to ensure a sustainable aviation industry, including essential aspects such as fair and open competition. 

The flightpath to safeguard and promote the competitiveness of EU network airlines

Create an EU regulatory framework that safeguards and promotes global competitiveness

The network airline business model is the benchmark for worldwide travel. The EU network carriers offer unparalleled services and connections to passengers as well as cargo operations all over the world. They comprise long-established and highly-respected global brands but their competitiveness is eroded by a combination of factors specific to the EU – to the extent that the long-term sustainability of the business is in doubt. 

EU network carriers have a dense European network that can provide connectivity to all European citizens, including the ones living in the regions. Within the EU, network carriers operate a broad network from their hubs across Europe. Many of these flights connect with long-haul intercontinental flights, which need some element of feeder traffic. 

Only carriers, which adhere to the principles of fair competition should be allowed to participate in this market. 

Ownership and control rules as defined under Regulation (EC) 1008/2008 should be maintained and enforced. 

Competitiveness and sustainability must go hand in hand

The members of the European Network Airlines’ Association have already and will continue to substantially invest in decarbonisation. While ENAA firmly supports the ambitions laid down in the Fit for 55 package and its objective for the EU to become CO2 neutral by 2050, it remains critical about the policy design of the European Green Deal’s measures that lead to a distortion of competition between EU and non-EU airlines and lead to carbon leakage. 

Considering the international nature of aviation and acknowledging that EU network carriers are under fierce competition from non-EU carriers, measures required to implement the Fit for 55 package for aviation must be seen in a global context.  

Aviation is a global business requiring global solutions also in terms of climate policy. European legislation aims to lead regulatory changes reducing carbon emissions. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that such efforts could be counteracted by traffic and emissions being shifted to hubs outside the EU (“carbon leakage”), resulting in distortion of competition for EU carriers as well as overall increased CO2 emissions.  

Safeguard a socially sustainable aviation industry

The free movement of people, workers, goods, services and capital are fundamental rights of the European Union. The legal framework ensuring these freedoms has to a large extent been harmonized. However, significant differences between the legal systems of the Member States remain and they affect the competitiveness of European airlines in the internal market. Discrepancies in social standards in aviation also affect the competitiveness of EU airlines at international level. 

From an economic perspective, a fair sustainable business pays for its operations, pays its social costs and provides a reasonable return on the capital employed over the long-term. 

Certain employment practices like hiring crew through agencies spares the airline from having to directly employ these crew members and having to give them the social rights, which they would be entitled to as an employee. The patchwork of social systems throughout the EU Member States creates ambiguity and distorts the market conditions. ENAA therefore advocates for clear EU-level rules on bogus self-employment. 

Many airlines from third countries serving EU destinations employ their crew at financial and social standards which are far below EU standards. While a certain difference between EU and third country carriers has always been the reality, the Commission should – in the form of a comprehensive air transport agreements – ensure that market access is conditioned to adherence to minimal social standards, including gender equality.