Jesper Runholm, president of the ERA (Association of European Regions), used his keynote speech at the association’s General Assembly in Estoril this week to highlight the pressures that European airlines currently face.
“The way prices seem to continually increase, especially on engines and landing gear components, is simply unbearable,” he told delegates.
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“It is impossible to keep up with these increases. There is no way we can increase our prices by up to 15% every year… It is not feasible,” he said.
“Salaries are also not increasing as much, so something is happening that is unhealthy and will eventually lead to some self-destruction,” added Runghorn, who is also CEO of DAT A/S.
“Some aircraft and some platforms will simply disappear because they are no longer worth flying because of their cost. I really urge our suppliers to be very, very careful because this is going in the wrong direction.”
Runghorn added that current inflationary prices will end “one way or another.”
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“Either we stop flying or we run out of money, but it cannot continue as before,” he concluded.
Other topics addressed by Runghorn in his speech were the European air traffic control situation, which he believes is improving, and EU regulations, in particular Directive 261, which deals with passengers’ compensation rights in case of delays. Runghorn described this legislation as “the beast.”
