Despite the ERA’s furious protest against what it regards as anticompetitive government subsidies to rail operators, the darlings of the powerful European environmental lobby continue to draw traffic away from ERA members and regional airlines in general. Through it all, public perception continues to defy scientific data: According to the German Aerospace Research Establishment, air transport accounts for 2 percent of global carbon-dioxide emissions, while rail and ship transport together account for 4 percent. Automobiles produce 10 percent.
Nevertheless, airlines must learn to cope with the ever-increasing popularity of high-speed trains, which many now consider complimentary rather than competitive service. Perhaps more so than anywhere, the phenomenon has turned France’s domestic transport industry on its ear, as the highly subsidized railroad company SNCF undercuts prices on regional routes throughout the country, leaving airlines with little choice but to shave fares dramatically or abandon markets.
