U.S., EU Sign “Open Skies” Agreement

U.S., EU sign “open skies” agreement

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) — The United States signed here on Monday a landmark air services agreement with the European Union which paves way to promote competition in transatlantic aviation.

U.S. President George W. Bush signed the agreement along with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of a U.S.-EU summit.

Under the agreement, any EU carrier would be able to fly from anywhere in the 27-nation EU bloc to any point in the United States and vice versa. There are no restrictions on the number of flights, aircraft used or routes.

The increasing competition would “shake up” the transatlantic market and lead to lower fares, Jacques Barrot, vice president of the European Commission, said in a statement.

“Already, the European airline industry is feeling its effects in a positive way, with plans for new services and signs of a much more flexible and dynamic approach to airline investment among European carriers,” Barrot said.

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