Ukrainian regional
airline, Dniproavia, is publicly requesting that the Department of
Aviation of the Federal Republic of Germany reverse the revocation
of its right to fly to Frankfurt and Berlin. The company believes
this move breaks the parity principle regarding access to local
routes envisaged by the 'Open Sky' agreement signed between the
Ukrainian and German governments, and creates unfair advantages to
a single carrier and the risk of monopolization on specific
routes.
The Dnipropetrovsk - Frankfurt route, which generated USD 5-6
mln in revenues annually, had been serviced by Dniproavia twice a
week. In September 2005, following the signing of the 'Open Sky'
agreement, Lufthansa requested 6 flights per week on this route,
and this was largely implemented by November, 2005. The
Dnipropetrovsk airport granted 5 of the flight slots according to
the request, and asked for a time shift for the sixth as it
conflicted with the existing Dniproavia flight on Thursdays. On the
following day, the German government's LBA prohibited Dniproavia
from servicing its long-established Sunday flights. The ruling was
based on the Dnipropetrovsk airport's 'breaking the parity
agreement', though in reality Lufthansa had 6 flights per week
compared to Dniproavia's 2.
Sergey Tkachenko, Deputy Director at Dniproavia, says that the
company was shocked by the sudden and untimely restriction,
especially when an accommodating shift, and not a refusal, was
involved. "After this, we thought long and hard about a response.
Reluctantly, we withdrew our own confirmation of Lufthansa's slots
at Dnipropetrovsk, and offered them 6 day-time only assignments
instead of their preferred 2AM arrival and 6AM departure
times."
In a letter dated March 8, 2006, the German government's
Department of Aviation completely forbade Dniproavia from servicing
not only its Frankfurt route, but its established Berlin flights as
well.
The department's ruling, which unravels Dniproavia's 7 years of
route development, USD 6 mln in infrastructure improvement and the
lease of a Boeing 737-400 jetliner, is seen by Dniproavia as a
violation of the fair competition rules and Open Sky agreement
mentioned above.
The move by an aviation giant against the successful niche
created by a firm in a developing country affects more than the
ability for people to travel. Dniproavia's financial commitments,
including loans for the home airport facility improvements that
Lufthansa now enjoys, must still be paid despite the loss in
revenue. Clients have been paid back for tickets they had
purchased, but reclaiming Dniproavia's customer base will take a
lot of effort.
Given that the coordinated moves by Lufthansa and the German
Department of Aviation are counter-competitive and put Dniproavia's
continued financial security at risk, the directorship asks again,
in the open letter, that the routes to Frankfurt and Berlin be
restored to the company.