JetBlue complains to US DOT about rejected Amsterdam slot requests
JetBlue Airways has filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) against the government of the Netherlands for repeated rejection of slot requests at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. In a filing on 14 February, the New York-based carrier goes so far as to ask the US government to forcibly confiscate slots from Dutch carrier KLM as a last resort, after repeatedly being thwarted by “blatant” discrimination from Amsterdam’s slot coordinator Airport Coordination Netherlands (ACNL). Jetblue reveals in the filing that it is “ready, willing and able” to launch flights to the Dutch city from John F Kennedy International and Boston Logan International airports. The airline, which currently operates flights to London from both US cities, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its plans to serve Amsterdam. In its complaint, JetBlue outlines numerous recent requests to ACNL for permission to operate flights between the East Coast of the USA and Amsterdam, the primary airport that serves the Netherlands, and third busiest airport in the world by passenger volume. “The refusal of the government of the Netherlands to make slots available to JetBlue is due to the government’s noise reduction plan involving a drastic reduction in the number of annual flight movements at Amsterdam,” JetBlue says. The airline contends the Dutch government’s conduct violates the US-European Union Open Skies agreement, as well as the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1978, which ensures competition between air carriers in a foreign market is not unjustifiably or unreasonably restricted or harmed. As early as last September, the carrier had asked for two slots previously held by Russian airline Aeroflot, beginning in the summer 2023 travel season. “These slots, if allocated to JetBlue, would support one daily, roundtrip flight between Amsterdam and JFK/Boston using environmentally friendly Airbus A321LR aircraft, which are quieter and lower-emitting than the vast majority of aircraft serving Amsterdam today,” the airline writes. A week after the request, ACNL denied it. Story has more.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-02-15/unaligned/jetblue-complains-to-us-dot-about-rejected-amsterdam-slot-requests
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JetBlue complains to US DOT about rejected Amsterdam slot requests
JetBlue Airways has filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) against the government of the Netherlands for repeated rejection of slot requests at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. In a filing on 14 February, the New York-based carrier goes so far as to ask the US government to forcibly confiscate slots from Dutch carrier KLM as a last resort, after repeatedly being thwarted by “blatant” discrimination from Amsterdam’s slot coordinator Airport Coordination Netherlands (ACNL). Jetblue reveals in the filing that it is “ready, willing and able” to launch flights to the Dutch city from John F Kennedy International and Boston Logan International airports. The airline, which currently operates flights to London from both US cities, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its plans to serve Amsterdam. In its complaint, JetBlue outlines numerous recent requests to ACNL for permission to operate flights between the East Coast of the USA and Amsterdam, the primary airport that serves the Netherlands, and third busiest airport in the world by passenger volume. “The refusal of the government of the Netherlands to make slots available to JetBlue is due to the government’s noise reduction plan involving a drastic reduction in the number of annual flight movements at Amsterdam,” JetBlue says. The airline contends the Dutch government’s conduct violates the US-European Union Open Skies agreement, as well as the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1978, which ensures competition between air carriers in a foreign market is not unjustifiably or unreasonably restricted or harmed. As early as last September, the carrier had asked for two slots previously held by Russian airline Aeroflot, beginning in the summer 2023 travel season. “These slots, if allocated to JetBlue, would support one daily, roundtrip flight between Amsterdam and JFK/Boston using environmentally friendly Airbus A321LR aircraft, which are quieter and lower-emitting than the vast majority of aircraft serving Amsterdam today,” the airline writes. A week after the request, ACNL denied it. Story has more.<br/>
