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“UNITED STATES-GERMANY AVIATION RELATIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S732-S733 on Feb. 1, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNITED STATES-GERMANY AVIATION RELATIONS
Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss a critically important international aviation matter I have raised in this body on numerous occasions. I refer to the significant opportunity that has presented itself to fully liberalize our aviation relations with the Federal Republic of Germany.
I am delighted to inform my colleagues that this morning the United States and Germany agreed on a framework for an open skies agreement. This is a major step in liberalizing aviation relations with one of our most important trading partners. A United States-Germany open skies agreement would produce significant new air service opportunities for all U.S. passenger carriers. Now that the mutually agreed upon structure for a liberalized air service agreement is in place, a round of formal talks has been scheduled for February 22 in Washington to finalize any remaining details.
Mr. President, I would like to praise both the Department of Transportation and the State Department for the excellent work they are doing in pursuing this opportunity. Also, I would be remiss if I failed to recognize the outstanding leadership German Transport Minister Matthias Wissmann has provided. I appreciate fully that Germany's membership in the European Union creates an added challenge in accomplishing our shared goal of securing an open skies agreement. For that reason, I commend Minister Wissmann for the great political courage he and the German Government have shown in pursuing this initiative.
An open skies agreement with Germany is tremendously significant since it would benefit the U.S. economy, our airline industry and consumers. Let me briefly expand on each point.
First, both immediately and from a long-term perspective, a United States-Germany open skies agreement would produce significant economic benefits for the United States. Due to the competitiveness of U.S. passenger and cargo carriers, they consistently generate for the United States significant net trade surpluses. I fully expect the same will continue to be true under a fully liberalized aviation regime with Germany. In fact, the performance of our cargo carriers under the liberalized air cargo agreement we signed with Germany in 1993 has been very impressive.
Germany also would benefit greatly from such an agreement. To confirm this point, one need only look to the Netherlands which continues to reap enormous economic benefits from the open skies agreement we signed with the Dutch several years ago. Unquestionably, the economic benefits of open skies agreements are a two-way street. I believe a United States-Germany open skies agreement is an excellent long-term economic investment for both countries.
Second, an open skies agreement with Germany would create tremendous new international air service opportunities for the U.S. airline industry. As I have previously explained to this body, such an agreement would generate both direct and indirect benefits for all U.S. passenger carriers.
In terms of direct benefits, an open skies agreement with Germany would immediately produce new air service opportunities between the United States and Germany. Is there pent-up demand among U.S. passenger carriers to serve Germany? Absolutely. Recently, eight U.S. passenger carriers sought to offer 316 roundtrip flights between the United States and Germany each week during the 1996 summer season. Under the current bilateral aviation agreement, however, U.S. passenger carriers can only offer 276 weekly roundtrip flights to Germany. Under an open skies agreement, there would be no such limit and the number of roundtrip frequencies would be set by market demand, not governments.
Equally important, German airports would provide well-situated gateway opportunities for our carriers to serve points throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the booming Asia-Pacific market. Is it realistic to think that German airports will provide key gateways to the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific market? Absolutely. In fact, Japan Airlines recently announced it intends to initiate new service between Osaka and Frankfurt. Non-stop service is presently available from Frankfurt-Main Airport to cities throughout the Asia-Pacific market including Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok and Singapore. Moreover, non-stop service to the Asia-Pacific market also is currently available from Munich Airport. These examples illustrate my point well.
With respect to indirect benefits, an open skies agreement with Germany would be an important catalyst for further liberalization of air service opportunities throughout Europe. Since it is such a critical fact, let me reiterate a point I have made in this body before. An open skies agreement with Germany --in combination with liberalized air service agreements we already secured with the Netherlands in 1992 and with nine other European countries last year--
would mean nearly half of all passengers traveling between the United States and Europe would be flying to or from European countries with open skies regimes. Under such a scenario, competition would be our best ally in opening the remaining restrictive air service markets in Europe.
Will an open skies agreement with Germany, or any other country for that matter, benefit all U.S. passenger carriers equally? Of course not. A market-oriented framework only guarantees carriers the opportunity to compete. As should be the case, the market will determine which carriers will benefit most under an open skies agreement with Germany. Overall, however, I do predict with confidence that the U.S. aviation industry as a whole will benefit immensely from unrestricted opportunities to serve Germany.
Third, undoubtedly consumers in the United States and Germany would be the biggest winners. Due to enhanced service options as well as the assurance of competitive air fares, consumers always benefit most under open skies agreements.
In conclusion, I am very pleased that we are well on our way to an open skies agreement with Germany. Such an agreement would be in the best economic interest of the United States and it would create considerable new international air service opportunities for all U.S. passenger carriers. Of great importance to me, consumers would reap significant benefits as well. I hope an open skies agreement with Germany will soon be in hand.
Let me add that I know some of my colleagues are frustrated that we have not made more progress liberalizing air service opportunities with several other major trading partners. I share this frustration but do not believe it results from a lack of effort on the part of our negotiators. In fact, our successful talks with the Germans illustrate a critical element which has been lacking in those other negotiations. I refer to the keen vision the Germans have shown in recognizing that the economic benefits of an open skies agreement with the United States are a two-way street.
In this regard, I believe my colleagues who are frustrated about the continued reluctance of the British to permit U.S. carriers greater access to London Heathrow Airport should be very pleased by this development with Germany. As I said earlier, competition will be our best ally in expanding air service opportunities with European countries such as the United Kingdom that continue to restrict the access of U.S. carriers. An open skies agreement with Germany will add great force to this market dynamic.
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