Interesting subject!!
The effect of being pushed back to what can be laughingliy call the insurance market is that cover is restricted to a level that doesn't comply with most aircraft lease agreements, doesn't comply with the new EU requirements on insurance levels and costs even more money than the vast premiums already being paid to governments.
It also allows insurers to issue notice of cancellation with a limited notice period ultimately grounding aircraft.
The main change in cover is that rather than providing an Any One Occurrence limit (remembering that Sept 11 can be classed as up to 4 occurrences) to a total limit per policy year.
This would have meant that following the first impact on Sept 11, both airlines would have had not liability insurance for any other aircraft they had in the air at that time.
On the subject of level playing fields, interesting that this whole subject started in the USA where their government is providing cover for third party liabilities at a cost of $0.10 per sector pax, whereas the rest of us are having to pay around $2 per sector pax.
In addition US carriers are not paying the surcharge of $1.25 to insurers to cover passenger insurance because that is also being provided by the US Government. Meaning the only country not contributing to the losses incurred by insurers last year in the USA are airlines based in the USA!
There is mention of airlines re-calculating their fares, well they can unless tey happen to be UK charters, then the cost can be passed onto the tour operator (who mostly have common ownership to the airline) but the Tour Operator is not allowed to surcharge it on to the passenger only build the cost into future brochures!!!
Hence the comment that some airlines (for which you can read tour operators) may well not survive.
Think of this, the cost to EU airlines is now about 11 times that which is was before Sept 11th 2001!
Last edited by clipstone; 14th Oct 2002 at 13:09.