U.S. May Retaliate with Concorde Ban if EU Enacts Ban on Hush-Kitted Aircraft

PUBLICATION: Financial Times (London)
DATE: February 25, 1999
SECTION: Back Page - First Section; Pg. 16
DATELINE: London, England

The Financial Times reports the U.S. is considering a ban of its own if the European Union goes forward with a ban on older hush-kitted aircraft.

According to the article, two U.S. congressmen have started the legislative steps that could result in the Concorde being banned at U.S. airports, owing to the supersonic airliner's noise levels. Congressman James Oberstar told the U.S. House of Representatives this month: "The Concorde aircraft has enjoyed a waiver from noise standards for over 20 years . . . When the US has been very tolerant of and co-operative with the Concorde. I am willing to continue co-operating and allow continuation of this waiver, but only if the EU drops this outrageous proposal." However, industry observers believe the U.S. would rather avoid calling a halt to British Airways' and Air France's Concorde services - and not just because Washington fears the anger of globe-trotting Americans. The U.S. is concerned that a ban on Concorde could lead to unpredictable European retaliation.

The article reports in 1990, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency, called for the phasing out of noisier, older aircraft such as the Boeing 727, the DC-9 and earlier versions of the Boeing 737, by 2002. In the U.S. not all airlines are retiring their older aircraft. Many are being fitted with hush-kits, or engine mufflers. The U.S. says this makes them quiet enough to meet the new requirements. But the European Commission disagrees. Last year, it proposed that no new hush-kitted aircraft be allowed to operate in European Union countries after April 1, 2002 unless it had already been flying to Europe before April 1 this year. This would in effect freeze the number of hush-kitted aircraft at existing levels.

The article states U.S. outrage over this proposal may be connected to the fact that only U.S. aircraft companies make the older, noisier aircraft. Mr. Oberstar remarked: "The administration has seen though this thinly veiled attempt to give a competitive advantage to EU aircraft and engine manufacturers." All aircraft manufactured by Airbus Industrie, the European consortium, meet the new noise requirements. The hush-kit manufacturers are all American too. Washington says if the EU insists on maintaining its freeze the resale value of about 1,600 older us aircraft could plummet as wary airlines avoid buying them on the second-hand market. In a letter to European transport ministers last week, Rodney Slater, U.S. transportation secretary, asked the EU to reconsider its proposed legislation. "If enacted, it could result in over $1bn of economic harm, including lost aviation product sales, and disrupt transatlantic trade in aircraft, aircraft engines, and air transportation services," he said. He added that the U.S. objected to the EU's proposed legislation because it concentrated on the design of an aircraft rather than how noisy it was. The hush-kitted aircraft met the new noise restrictions, he insisted.

According to the article, the EU has refused to budge. The hush-kitted aircraft might meet the legal requirements, Brussels says, but they sound noisier to people living under their flight paths. Many more people live around airports in densely populated European cities than in the U.S. The hush-kitted aircraft also cause more pollution, the Commission contends. The European parliament this month approved the new rules. EU transport ministers are scheduled to endorse them in the next few weeks. In response, Oberstar introduced a bill directing Slater to ban Concorde from the U.S. if the EU ministers approve the proposed noise regulations. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate. Both have been referred to congressional committees, but could be enacted at short notice by attaching them as amendments to other legislation going though Congress. However, the U.S. administration is thought to be reluctant to change the Concorde's noise exemption. Instead, if the EU persists, observers believe the U.S. will pursue its complaints with the World Trade Organization. Slater has asked EU ministers to postpone a final decision in order that further consultations might be allowed to take place. Last night the Commission said it would talk to the U.S. although it was not backing down.

http://www.nonoise.org/news/1999/feb21.htm