U.S. – E.U. Reach “Open Skies” Deal

One day I will be able to fly a foreign airline like Lufthansa from New York to Seattle. That day is not quite here yet, but (hopefully) it’s getting closer. The U.S. and the E.U. announced a long-sought “open skies” agreement Friday that should allow EU based airlines to fly anywhere in the U.S. (and vice versa). Prior to the agreement, the U.S. had not treated the E.U. as a single entity thus treating each nation-based airline (e.g. Air France and KLM) as separate even though they are now merged.

The details have not yet been released, although there appears to be anti-trust immunity for U.S. and EU carriers to facilitate airline alliances, rights for EU airlines to operate between the United States and non-EU European cities and to allow people traveling on U.S. government funds to use EU carriers. (A 1958 law obliges all U.S. government-funded travelers to fly on U.S. airlines only). For this and other reasons, I assume Congress will need to approve at least some parts of this agreement. I doubt it will be controversial, but who knows with the new Congress? Pressure from those and other quarters had already forced a previous plan to loosen restrictions on foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, which was supposed to be part of the US-EU deal. So watch for that congressional backlash.