European airlines seek help to overcome 'worst crisis' BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) =97 European airlines appealed Monday for governments= =20 to help carriers survive the loss of business from the Iraq war, which the= =20 industry blamed for compounding the "worst crisis in its history." The=20 Association of European Airlines said its 30 member airlines reported a=20 12.3% drop in international passengers from March 17 to March 23, the week= =20 when the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began. It said the war was compounding=20 losses from the prevailing economic downturn and the impact of the Sept.=20 11, 2001, terror attacks. "Our industry is facing the worst crisis in its=20 history," said Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, secretary general of the=20 Association of European Airlines. Schulte-Strathaus appealed for European=20 governments specifically to help cover the cost of extra security measures= =20 and higher insurance premiums. European Union nations on Friday agreed to=20 loosen competition rules that normally oblige airlines to surrender the=20 slots for their least-used routes to rival airlines. Airlines argued the=20 practice was unfairly punishing airlines that wanted to halt some routes=20 during the war, but didn't want to end the routes permanently. However EU transport ministers rejected any wider bailout of the industry,= =20 for now. The Association of European Airlines estimates the Iraq war could= =20 add $2.5 billion to its members' losses. Meanwhile Monday, Lufthansa said=20 it is in talks to reduce hours for 13,500 flight attendants as the German=20 airline seeks to cut costs. Lufthansa and employee representatives are=20 looking at ways to cut personnel costs under German labor law or the=20 airline's contract, spokeswoman Christine Ritz said. "We are checking every possibility for overcoming the (war) crisis," she=20 said. Lufthansa has already cut costs and passenger capacity since the=20 Sept. 11, 2001 attacks made passenger demand fall. The airline credits=20 those moves for a 717 million euro ($760 million) profit last year, but=20 warns that the crisis in the airline industry is far from over. Lufthansa=20 could use German law, which permits cuts in worker hours when there is 10%= =20 less work for at least 30% of workers. The government then pays=20 compensation to the workers. Alternatively, a crisis clause in the=20 airline's collective contract allows cutting the work week from 37.5 hours= =20 to 36 hours without compensation. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week:http://www.ttsailing.org/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************