Airlines for Europe Seeks to Eclipse Association for European Airlines

Europe has a new lobbying group, Airlines for Europe (A4E), which hopes to replace the Association for European Airlines (AEA) as the primary trade association for European carriers. AEA was beset by defections last year over the association's opposition to the growth of middle eastern carriers in the European market. The new association includes remaining members of AEA such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM, along with some of the association's most significant defectors, such as IAG, and major LCCs such as Ryanair and easyJet.  A4E's first campaign is targeting airport charges, an area of agreement for all carriers.