Europe divided

Looking around Europe right now, it’s hard to see anything other than fragmentation, with daily aviation strikes and the UK on the brink of deciding on whether to leave the European Union.

Over the past week, I have written nine European aviation strike stories, covering France, Italy, Portugal and Scandinavia, against the backdrop of the referendum playing out in my UK home market.

There is fragmentation between European companies and their employees; just look at Air France and SAS. There is fragmentation in our skies which is being fiercely defended by repeated ATC strikes. And there is fragmentation between countries, with the UK looking to take back its independence.

Meanwhile, we repeatedly hear about the need for further European aviation consolidation to create economies of scale and spread costs, so we can match the performance of our US cousins. Two markets, both mature, both have been through tough times, but one is less divided, more stable and more profitable.

But if Europe can’t get internal company politics to work, what hope is there for the market as a whole? Does cultural diversity and national pride mean that fragmentation is unavoidable? If so, how do you make that work in a business sense?

On its mini stage, the aviation industry has shown that carefully managed partnerships can increase scale, cut costs and lead to profit. But that does require giving up a bit of identity. And that requires trust.