European airlines urged Brussels on Wednesday to do more to secure a level playing field in the industry, complaining that Chinese rivals enjoy a huge cost advantage because they can fly over Russia and do not face extra environmental costs.
A number of carriers, including IAG-owned British Airways (ICAG.L), opens new tab and Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), opens new tab have recently cancelled their routes to Beijing as they struggle with competition from Chinese airlines on Europe-Asia routes.
Action is all the more important because many carriers are also facing delivery delays as planemakers Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab and Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab struggle with supply chain problems and, in Boeing’s case, industrial action, the airlines said.
At an industry press conference in Brussels, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said all flights into Europe should be required to avoid Russian airspace to ensure fair competition.
“We are not allowed to cross Russia but Chinese carriers are. If you want a level playing field, we need to ensure any airline landing in Europe avoids Russian airspace. Until that happens there will be enormous advantages to Chinese carriers,” he said.
He also said that Chinese airlines did not have costs related to Europe’s emissions trading system, describing that as another “financial advantage”.
