Same Olde **** from this uneducated and bitter man. He wants to blame everyone else for the failure of his airline to get off the ground. Yet it seems like it might be not the ALPA pilots or the US government that is stalling, rather the sticking point is landing rights to Heathrow.
By Daniel Morrissey, UK Transport Correspondent
LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - British and United States government representatives said on Wednesday they had "positive and constructive'' talks on liberalising aviation, but analysts said officials were realistic about remaining obstacles to a deal.
The talks are being encouraged by British and U.S. airlines seeking closer commercial ties, but the two sides did not make any progress on unsettled issues at the meeting and said no further negotiations would take place until the autumn.
The British Ministry of Transport, Local Government and the Regions said officials "briefly rehearsed the remaining bilateral issues separating the two sides, but did not seek to resolve any of them at this meeting''.
"The atmosphere was positive and constructive,'' the ministry said in a statement, adding that both sides decided not to fix dates just yet for the future negotiations.
MAJOR OBSTACLES AHEAD
Analysts said the outcome of two days of talks in London was as much as airlines like British Airways Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BAY.L) and American Airlines (NYSE:AMR - news) could have hoped for, given the major obstacles ahead.
"The worst case scenario would have been if they came out and said, as they have done in previous years, that the whole thing is a complete waste of time and there's nothing else to talk about,'' said an airline analyst, who asked not be identified.
"They plan to investigate the issues later in the year, which is exactly what British Airways, American (Airlines) and others would have hoped for, but it sounds like the officials are taking a fairly realistic view of some of the challenges ahead.''
Responding to the ministry's comments, a spokesman for British Airways said: "It's a positive outcome, and we look forward to hearing the outcome of the next talks.''
British Airways has been discussing deepening its commercial alliance with American Airlines, the world's largest. The two are members of the Oneworld airline grouping but are blocked by regulators from code-sharing.
An "open skies'' agreement would end the existing bilateral air travel treaty, under which only American Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL] and United Airlines (NYSE:UAL - news) are allowed to fly between London's Heathrow airport and the United States.
HEATHROW ACCESS A STICKING POINT
The sticking point for Washington in past talks has been access to Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport. Three U.S. airline rivals of American and United demanded last week that the London talks address Heathrow access.
British Airways said on Tuesday it hoped for antitrust immunity to allow it to pursue its closer ties with American under a "properly structured open skies agreement''.
The UK ministry said while British and U.S. officials recognised the commercial discussions between the airlines "gave added impetus'' to their negotiations, "they noted that no application for antitrust immunity had yet been filed''.
The ministry also said officials considered how the outcome of the European Commission's court case seeking the right to negotiate multilateral air service agreements between the United States and Europe might affect the prospects of a U.S.-UK deal.
Airline take-off and landing rights are negotiated under bilateral treaties between sovereign states, preventing open markets and takeover and merger activity among carriers because those rights are vested in nation states, not airlines.