Commission notice pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92

Amendment of public service obligations imposed on certain scheduled air services within Portugal

(2001/C 271/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

1. Pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 the Portuguese Government has decided to amend, as from 1 January 2002, the public service obligations imposed on scheduled air services operated on the following routes:

- Lisbon/Ponta Delgada/Lisbon,

- Lisbon/Terceira/Lisbon,

- Lisbon/Horta/Lisbon,

- Funchal/Ponta Delgada/Funchal,

- Oporto/Ponta Delgada/Oporto.

2. The public service obligations are as follows:

- Minimum frequency:

- on the Lisbon/Ponta Delgada/Lisbon route, 24 round trips per week from June to September and 16 round trips per week (one of which may be combined with Oporto) from October to May, with at least two round trips per day throughout the year,

- on the Lisbon/Terceira/Lisbon route, two round trips per day from June to September and one round trip per day from October to May,

- on the Lisbon/Horta/Lisbon route, seven round trips per week from June to September and five round trips per week from October to May,

- on the Funchal/Ponta Delgada/Funchal route, two round trips per week from June to September and one round trip per week from October to May,

- on the Oporto/Ponta Delgada/Oporto route, three round trips per week from June to September and two round trips per week from October to May, one of which may be combined with Lisbon.

- Timetables

Unless limited by airport schedules:

- flights must take place between 06.30 local time at the place of departure and 00.30 local time at the destination; at least one flight per day between Lisbon and Ponta Delgada and between Lisbon and Terceira must be operated between 08.00 and 21.00, and, for at least three days a week, one of the flights must be operated before 13.00,

- from June to September, the abovementioned schedule limits may be delayed by 30 minutes, where duly justified.

Whenever differing daily flight frequencies have to be operated, flights must be evenly spread throughout the abovementioned time periods.

- Capacity

The following minimum weekly capacity must be offered:

- on the Lisbon/Ponta Delgada/Lisbon service, 7700 seats plus 160 tonnes of freight and mail from April to October and 5600 seats and 150 tonnes of freight and mail from November to March,

- on the Lisbon/Terceira/Lisbon service, 3600 seats and 90 tonnes of freight and mail from April to October and 2900 seats and 85 tonnes of freight and mail from November to March,

- on the Lisbon/Horta/Lisbon service, 1250 seats and 15 tonnes of freight and mail from April to October and 750 seats and 15 tonnes of freight and mail from November to March,

- on the Funchal/Ponta Delgada/Funchal service, 390 seats from April to October and 260 seats from November to March,

- on the Oporto/Ponta Delgada/Oporto service, 840 seats from April to September and 560 seats from October to March.

Whenever the average load factors for all carriers on a particular route, in any IATA season, exceed 75 %, the minimum capacity to be offered in the next equivalent season must be increased by at least enough so as to comply with that maximum load factor.

- Additional capacity

During the Christmas to New Year and Easter holidays, the following minimum additional capacity must be offered over both these periods:

- on the Lisbon/Ponta Delgada/Lisbon service, 2000 seats,

- on the Lisbon/Terceira/Lisbon service, 2000 seats,

- on the Lisbon/Horta/Lisbon service, 1500 seats.

During the high season, the following minimum additional weekly capacity must be offered:

- on the Lisbon/Ponta Delgada/Lisbon service, 1600 seats in June and September and 4800 seats in July and August,

- on the Lisbon/Terceira/Lisbon service, 1600 seats in June and September and 2600 seats in July and August,

- on the Lisbon/Horta/Lisbon service, 500 seats in June and September and 1240 seats and 5 tonnes of freight and mail in July and August,

- on the Funchal/Ponta Delgada/Funchal service, 260 seats in September and 390 seats in July and August,

- on the Oporto/Ponta Delgada/Oporto service, 280 seats in September and 840 seats in July and August.

In the event of temporary interruption of the air services due to unforeseen circumstances, to cases of force majeure and for other reasons, the programmed capacity must be increased by at least 60 % from the moment when services can be resumed until all the traffic backlog accumulated during the interruption in services has been cleared.

The specified quantities of freight, including mail, shall be carried using capacity with a minimum weekly flight frequency equal to the minimum weekly frequency set for passenger flights.

- Type of aircraft used

The services must be operated using appropriate jet-propelled aircraft; for services to and from Horta airport carriers must observe the conditions published in "Aeronautical information of Portugal" (AIP).

- Fares

The fare structure must include:

(a) a fully flexible economy reference fare of:

(i) PTE 61400 (EUR 307) return between Lisbon and Ponta Delgada, Horta and Terceira;

(ii) PTE 61400 (EUR 307) return between Oporto and Ponta Delgada;

(iii) PTE 43600 (EUR 218) return between Funchal and Ponta Delgada;

(b) a range of special fares with special conditions adapted to demand (e.g. excursion etc.), including at least one PEX fare of:

(i) PTE 38500 (EUR 193) return between the mainland and the Azores;

(ii) PTE 28100 (EUR 141) return between Funchal and the Azores;

(c) reduced fares for residents of the autonomous region of the Azores and students whose place of residence is within the autonomous region of the Azores and who study elsewhere in Portugal or vice versa of:

(i) PTE 32200 (EUR 161) return for residents on flights between the Azores and the mainland;

(ii) PTE 25000 (EUR 125) return for students on flights between the Azores and the mainland;

(iii) PTE 17600 (EUR 88) return for students on flights between Ponta Delgada and Funchal;

(d) freight tariffs on services between the mainland and the autonomous region of the Azores shall be as follows:

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(e) passenger fares and freight tariffs from or to any airport in the autonomous region of the Azores without a regular direct link to mainland Portugal or Funchal shall be identical to those referred to above; passenger routes between mainland Portugal and the autonomous region of the Azores and between the autonomous regions shall be limited to two flight coupons, i.e. one in each direction, and passenger routes within the autonomous region of the Azores shall be limited to:

- two flight coupons for non-residents,

- three flight coupons for residents and students,

- by way of exception, to and from Corvo one additional flight coupon will be permitted whenever there is no daily connection.

For the purposes of subparagraph (e), charges relating to fares published for transport within the Azores are the responsibility of the carrier who provides services in accordance with these obligations.

A no-show penalty may be set, not exceeding 10 % of the relevant economy class reference fare.

These fares shall be revised automatically every year on 1 April, beginning in 2002, based on the rate of inflation for the previous year, as published by the Portuguese Government in the Grandes Opções do Plano and as previously notified, by 28 February, by the Instituto Nacional da Aviação Civil (Portuguese Civil Aviation Institute) (INAC) to the carriers operating the routes in question. The INAC shall notify the Commission of the new fares, which shall enter into force only after publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The fare applicable to residents shall in no circumstances exceed 60 % of the economy class reference fare.

These public service obligations shall apply without prejudice to the conclusion of interline agreements with other carriers on fares for services originating in or bound for points other than Lisbon, Oporto and Funchal.

In the event that the abovementioned services are operated by different air carriers, these carriers shall establish agreements allowing passengers originating in or bound for any airport in the autonomous region of the Azores without a direct scheduled connection to mainland Portugal or to Funchal to combine stages of their trip with different air carriers.

- Continuity of service and punctuality

Except in cases of force majeure, the number of flights cancelled for reasons directly attributable to the carrier must not exceed 2 % of the number of flights scheduled in any IATA scheduling season.

Except in cases of force majeure, delays of more than 15 minutes directly attributable to the carrier may not affect more than 15 % of the flights.

The services must be guaranteed throughout one calendar year at least and, except in the cases mentioned above, may be suspended only with six months' notice.

- Flight marketing

Flights must be marketed using at least one computerised reservation system.

- Mail service

Mail sent by the universal postal service operator must satisfy the quality standards of the universal service and other applicable legal requirements.

3. Community carriers are hereby informed that, given the special importance of the routes in question and the exceptional nature of service continuity requirements for the most outlying regions:

- carriers wishing to start operating one or more of the services subject to these obligations must first submit a financial plan as evidence of their ability to operate the services for one year in accordance with the obligations imposed,

- all carriers holding a valid operating licence issued by a Member State in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 on licensing of air carriers can operate these services,

- given the special nature of these services, air carriers will have to demonstrate their capacity to operate the service in question with a cabin crew the majority of whom can speak and understand Portuguese,

- carriers must apply by 30 November 2001 to operate one or more services in accordance with the obligations imposed and without claiming any compensation,

- interruption of the service in question without giving the advance notice laid down in the public service obligations set out above, or failure to comply with those obligations, will result in a fine.

Community carriers are also informed that the Instituto Nacional da Aviação Civil (Portuguese Civil Aviation Institute) (INAC) will monitor compliance with the public service obligations imposed.