Etihad partners Ryanair!

Ryanair is making the pace by an unprecedented alliance with some unlikely partners including Etihad Airways, Norwegian and Australia’s Virgin Blue, to lobby for an extension of government credit to airlines.

The US and leading European Union governments, including the UK, offer credit to overseas purchasers of expensive technology and infrastructure, including aircraft, to encourage exports. 

However, carriers in Europe and the US cannot access the credit under an agreement between Brussels and Washington, as this would be deemed state aid. 

Calling itself “The Aviation Alliance”, and headed by the redoubtable Michael O’Leary, the group wants no limit on the amount of export credits extended to all airlines, no increase in the fees for credit and no reduction in the proportion of the cost of an aircraft that can be financed.

British Airways boss Willie Walsh (and the major European and US carriers) is against the practice, arguing the expansion of Emirates and other Middle East airlines was being subsidised by tax payers. 

The issue is coming to a head in talks on a new set of global rules due to be finalised by the end of this year through the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. www.ryanair.com

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