The liberalisation of air travel – who gains?
In what is being heralded as a historic deal, the EU has reached agreement with the USA on what is termed an ‘open skies’ deal. This will allow EU-based airlines to fly from anywhere in Europe to anywhere in the USA and US carriers can operate to any European destination. So what will this deal mean for travellers, the environment and the airlines. The articles below look at the issues and also at the detail of the agreement, which still maintains many of the previous limitations on airlines and their ownership.
EU backing for ‘open skies’ deal BBC News Online (22/3/07)
Q&A: Open skies BBC News Online (22/3/07)
EU agrees open skies deal Guardian (22/3/07)
Open skies: Q&A Guardian (22/3/07)
Transatlantic fares set to tumble after ‘open skies’ deal Times Online(22/3/07)
Questions
| 1. | What criteria should be used to assess the success of the ‘open skies’ deal? |
| 2. | Assess the extent to which the ‘open skies’ deal will increase the level of competition in the transatlantic market for air travel. |
| 3. | Discuss the options available to the EU to increase competition further in the market for air travel. |