Airlines Are Counting on Trump to Reduce Regulations
Photo Credit: IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac spoke last year an industry event. His group does not appreciate too much government regulation. IATA
Skift Take
IATA, a global airline industry trade group, would prefer politicians and regulators not meddle too much with the commercial decisions of airlines. That's a fine position, but perhaps a certain amount of regulation is OK. Consumers should be protected.
At last week's Aviation Day USA, I kept waiting for Dr. Evil — the Austin Powers movie character — to spring from behind the stage with a mischievous grin.
I got that feeling because in front of an industry audience — the event was sponsored by IATA, a trade group, and the Wings Club — insiders mostly spoke not about how to improve the passenger experience, but how to make more money and reduce government regulation. At times, it seemed they were more preoccupied with getting governments out of their business than anything else.
No one wants to mess with safety, of course. But IATA leaders seemed to scoff at consumer protections, arguing the industry can police itself while praising the Trump administration for its regulatory approach. "We'd like to see a lot more of the same," IATA general counsel Jeffrey Shane told Jeffrey Rosen, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The two worked in the George W. Bush administration and were unusually chummy durin
