US embassy cable - 05ROME2991

UNCLAS ROME 002991 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EB/TRA/AN; DOT FOR HATLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR, ETRD, IT, RS, AVIATION 
SUBJECT: ITALY: CODESHARING ON FLIGHTS TO THE RUSSIAN 
FEDERATION, A SIGN OF STRONG AVIATION TIES? 
 
REF: SECSTATE 153814 
 
1. Summary and comment.  In response to reftel request, 
Econoffs met September 2 with GOI chief aviation negotiator 
Aldo Sansone, who described the Italy-Russia Air Services 
Agreement as "liberal."  The Agreement includes a key 
third-country code-share provision; Sansone believed American 
carriers might also put their codes on Russia-U.S. flights 
via Italy, provided the U.S.-Russia agreement includes a 
similar third-country code-share provision. Alitalia 
representatives have told us, however, that this 
third-country code-share agreement is not yet operational. In 
a larger sense, the Italy-Russia aviation agreement may have 
foreshadowed PM Berlusconi and President Putin's end-August 
discussions on economic initiatives in, inter alia, aviation 
and avionics.  End summary and comment. 
 
2. Italy's March 2005 bilateral aviation agreement with the 
Russian Federation increased flight frequencies from 18 to 
70.  Sansone told us it took four months to negotiate with 
the very professional and extremely well-prepared Russian 
negotiators.  While Italy does have third-country code-share 
rights, neither Sansone, nor an Alitalia contact, could tell 
us why Alitalia has not yet placed third-country codes on 
Russian Federation-bound flights. 
 
3. The civil aviation talks foreshadowed recent press reports 
of discussions between Prime Minister Berlusconi and Russian 
Federation President Putin in late August on economic 
initiatives in aeronautics, energy, telecommunications and 
mobile security systems. Separately, just before the leaders 
met in Soci, Italian state-controlled defense/aerospace 
conglomerate Finmeccanica announced a commercial MOU with 
Russian firm Sukhoi. The 1.1 billion euro deal reportedly 
would finance the construction of 700 aircraft over the next 
twenty years. 
 
4.  Comment:  While the new Italy-Russia air services 
agreement seems generous, it (a) does not seem to have been 
put to the third-country code-share test, and (b) may be part 
of a quickly-progressing and ambitious economic agenda.  It 
will be interesting to see if Russia is equally generous with 
the United States when the U.S.-Russia civil aviation talks 
commence in October.  End comment. 
SPOGLI 
 
 
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 2005ROME02991 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED