Air France CEO: avoiding Russia airspace compounds China rivalry

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The CEO of Air France-KLM said on Monday that western Europe-based airlines need more favourable regulation because the obligation to fly around Russian airspace puts them at an added disadvantage against Chinese rivals.

In an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and French newspaper Les Echos together with Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr, Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith said having to skirt around Russia adds between two and two-and-a-half hours to flights between Europe and Asia.

"All costs arising from the additional flight time must be borne. Furthermore, customers do not necessarily want to spend two extra hours on an already long flight to Asia," said Smith, adding that Chinese airlines do not have to take the detour.

He said that the faster access to Europe enjoyed by Chinese airlines amounted to a "gift" while western airlines faced competitive disadvantages.

In the interview, both Smith and Spohr backed a proposal by the U.S. government to block access to U.S. airspace for any airline that continues to use Russia's airspace.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Ilona Wissenbach, Editing by Miranda Murray)