Tue, Jul 01, 2008
Airline Had Hoped To Skirt Requirements
The quibbling continues between the
US Department of Transportation and low-cost airline Virgin
America. The DOT ruled Monday the airline must disclose financial
and traffic data it sought to keep confidential, over concerns that
rivals would use it to better compete with the startup airline.
The department regularly releases financial and traffic data
about all major US airlines... a requirement Virgin America had
hoped to avoid, by virtue of its affiliation with foreign
interests. The Virgin Group, led by Sir Richard Branson, owns a
25-percent stake in the branded carrier.
That relationship with a foreign company has been a sticking
point between Virgin and DOT in the past,
as ANN has reported. The agency did not agree
with Virgin America's contention that release of the data "will
likely cause substantial harm" to the airline.
Burlingame, CA-based Virgin America earlier this year asked
federal regulators not to make financial information available to
the public -- or its rivals. Allowing other airlines to see its
costs, revenue or pricing would "substantially harm its competitive
position," Virgin America said in papers filed with the
government.
That request was roundly criticized by rivals like United
Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and others. "It is
fundamentally unfair for those who choose to game the system to
keep their traffic and financial data from competitors," those
airlines said.
The transportation department did grant Virgin America's request
to keep some data confidential. For example, the DOT will not
publish figures on aircraft costs, or asset depreciation.
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