Insults Fly in the Battle Over Transatlantic Routes : Airlines: The long-simmering feud gets personal as U.S. and British officials trade barbs. At stake is domination of air travel between the two nations for decades to come.

The United States and Great Britain are engaged in an increasingly testy dogfight over the Atlantic whose outcome could determine which nation dominates air traffic between the two countries well into the 21st Century.

The long-simmering feud took a personal turn Wednesday as one British legislator said the United States could “get stuffed,” and a key U.S. negotiator involved in route talks between the two nations charged that British demands “go beyond gluttony to extortion.”

On its face, the air war over the Atlantic is about fares and whether Britain will permit two financially strong U.S. airlines--United Airlines and American Airlines--to replace two struggling ones--Pan American World Airways and Trans World Airlines--on routes to London’s Heathrow Airport.

“But what this is really about is a battle for global supremacy in the airline industry,” said Lee Howard, chief executive officer of Airline Economics, a Washington consulting firm.

The latest shot was fired late Tuesday, when U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner disapproved a British Airways proposal to slash fares across the Atlantic by one-third for travel between April 6 and Oct. 31.

British Airways spokeswoman Margaret Vodopia said Wednesday that the airline was “deeply disappointed.” The carrier’s objective, she added, was to “stimulate travel and tourism at a time the Gulf War is putting pressure on airlines on both sides of the Atlantic.”

In an obvious slap at the transportation secretary, British Airways will take full advantage of a loophole in fare regulations and continue selling the deeply discounted seats until the last possible moment permitted by U.S. law: 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday.

“We’re saying, ‘Go for it America. Buy the fare while you can,’ ” Vodopia said.

The regulations allow a short window when fares can be automatically implemented.

(The Transportation Department also rejected proposals by Britain’s Virgin Atlantic and six U.S. carriers to match or undercut the British fares. Those airlines can also sell the reduced-fare seats until 11:59 p.m. Friday, and most were expected to do so.)

The British Airways response to Skinner’s decision only confirmed the view of many on this side of the Atlantic that British Air’s proposed fare cut was a predatory attempt to finish off hemorrhaging Pan Am, and perhaps TWA as well.

Since the British government is holding up approval of deals to transfer the Pan Am and TWA Heathrow routes to United and American, respectively, the demise of Pan Am, TWA or both would give British Airways the overwhelming advantage between the United States and Heathrow.

American carriers would be forced to serve the less convenient (and less congested) Gatwick Airport. But American and United have said they will not complete agreements to buy the routes if they cannot land at Heathrow. TWA and Pan Am have said they must have cash soon from the route sales to ensure their financial health.

International travel has dropped precipitously since war broke out in the Persian Gulf because passengers are afraid of Iraqi-sponsored terrorist bombs.

That the two allies against Iraq are at each other’s throats should come as no surprise.

Faced with record losses because of skyrocketing fuel costs and plummeting traffic, airlines are looking for every advantage they can get. And as layoffs in the airline industry proliferate, governments are increasingly willing to protect what they view as their vital economic interests.

“We certainly don’t want to see (the situation) escalate into a major airline war,” said an aide to Prime Minister John Major on Wednesday.

But other British government officials weren’t nearly as politic. “The Americans think they own the Atlantic and regard transatlantic travel as their own fiefdom,” said Robert Adley, a Conservative legislator.

“The main cause of the slump in transatlantic traffic is the pathetic behavior of Americans who believe that Baghdad is 43 miles from Piccadilly Circus,” he added, referring to the pervasive fear of terrorism by U.S. travelers.

Douglas Hoyle, a Labor member of Parliament, added: “In a couple of words, we should simply tell (the Americans) to get stuffed.”

The unyielding language may reflect Britain’s strong bargaining position. “Plainly and simply, the U.K. has us over a barrel,” acknowledged one frustrated U.S. negotiator who requested anonymity.

A 1980 treaty between the United States and Britain granted landing rights at Heathrow to Pan Am, TWA and British Airways, by name. “At the time, everyone expected that these three would surely be around forever,” the negotiator said.

But two years ago, as the financial prospects of Pan Am and TWA dimmed and it became increasingly probable that the two might be forced to sell off their lucrative Heathrow routes, U.S. government negotiators sought to renegotiate the agreement.

“The British have done nothing but drag their feet,” the U.S. negotiator charged. The situation took on added urgency for the United States late last year when first Pan Am and then TWA agreed to sell their routes.

“Our government has told them again and again they have got to deal urgently with this,” the negotiator said. President Bush has even raised the issue twice, first with then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and more recently with Major.

Britain has argued that the current treaty gives the United States an advantage by permitting two U.S. carriers--but only one British one--access to Heathrow.

In exchange for permitting United and American into Heathrow, Britain is demanding a range of concessions that would cost U.S. carriers “hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the foreseeable future,” the negotiator said.

Among the concessions the British are seeking are the right to fly from any city on the European mainland to the United States without touching down in Great Britain, the right of British Airways to join any U.S. airline’s frequent flier program and the right for British carriers to fly from the United States to the South Pacific.

In addition, the negotiator said, “they want a permanent cap on American and United flights into Heathrow, while the number of British flights continues to grow.”