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Open Skies: A New Era for Transatlantic Aviation? The new open skies agreement between the European Union (EU) and the U.S., approved by EU transport ministers on March 22, is being hailed on both sides of the Atlantic as a major step towards further liberalization of transatlantic aviation. The agreement allows any U.S.-based airline to fly from anywhere in the U.S. to anywhere in the 27 countries that make up the EU, and vice versa. The U.S. State Department described the agreement as “a harbinger of further liberalization,” while Jacques Barrot, vice-president of the European Commission hailed the deal, while making a backhanded reference to the UK recalcitrance that threatened to scuttle the talks, said he was “delighted to have piloted this agreement to its destination with all passengers still on board.” This agreement is only a stage towards an eventual comprehensive pact that encompasses such measures as restrictions on foreigh ownership of airlines in both jurisdictions, Olivier Jankovec, general manager of Airports Council International – Europe, told Gateway International. “The final agreement should also further reinforce and develop regulatory convergence on key issues such as security – our aim is a ‘one-stop security’ concept with the U.S. – safety and competition.” The previous bilateral aviation agreements, in effect since World War II, had been seen as favoring the U.S. at the expense of Europe, and in fact the present pact is not entirely even-handed, offering U.S. carriers free access to Europe – with the potential to stat domestic routes within Europe, a privilege still denied to European carriers. However, in 2010 the U.S. is widely expected to allow European carriers to do so. “The final agreement should include fully liberalized traffic rights between te EU and the U.S., including domestic routes, which are currently out of the scope,” Olivier Jankovec, told Gateway International. Doubts remain. The U.K. only agreed with reluctance, and has indicated that it is prepared to withdraw its support for the deal if it does not secure concessions, such as a delayed implementation of the agreement at Heathrow to allow for the new fifth terminal there to come onstream before the airport is opened up to full competition. As it stands the airport is operating at full stretch serving the four airlines that are allowed to operate there. The U.K. is also insisting that U.S. restrictions on foreign ownership of airlines be rescinded. “I think we need to look at where we come from – a myriad of bilateral agreements which definitely put Europe in a weak position vis-à-vis the U.S.,” Jankovec said. “There has been a re-balancing in favor of Europe – this cannot be contested. If this is enough or not is subject to very different considerations. What is important is that we have definitely obtained from the U.S. the maximum they can give at present.” This paves the way for further ‘rebalancing’ in future, he added. Jankovec notes that the looming capacity crunch facing European aviation will only be made more severe if the EU decides to liberalize aviation agreements with other trading partners along the lines of the agreement with the U.S. “This is not new as Eurocontrol and ECAC have been sending, since 2004, a very clear warning signal regarding the looming capacity crunch Europe is facing,” he told GI. Funding isn’t the problem: rather it’s a question of getting clearance to build and then getting the work done in time to meet expected demand. News reports suggest that airlines are only too willing to exploit the agreement. Even before the March 22 approval, Virgin Atlantic had already begun to study the feasibility of launching flights to the U.S. from a number of major European cities, while the head of United Airlines – like Virgin, one of the four approved operators at Heathrow – said that it would benefit customers on both sides of the Atlantic. Continental, Aer Lingus and British Airways were among other major transatlantic carriers said to be exploring options for new routes. |
