Europe-USA open skies

[no, no, no]

Looks like the US has given Europe a decent package for them to agree on and bring in the much-needed open skies in the UK.

If this does come off - and remember we've down this road many tims before - what changes do you think it will bring to London to USA operations.

I gather that as part of the deal the UK would not be forced to give US airlines slots for LHR (which I don't think they can do anyway) - woudn't this mean that bmi would be the only ones to benefit - or AF, KL etc who could start up from LHR??????

[akerosid]

If bmi were to get access to the US from LHR, I'd be surprised if the US wouldn't insist on another one of its carriers getting access. I haven't heard much about LHR in the current discussions. As I understand it, the latest US proposal allows European carriers to "operate" internal US flights, as long as they are flown by US airlines and aircraft; European aircraft may provide crews and their own branding. Don't know how different this is to codesharing.

As far as I can see, the Americans are anxious for the deal to be done in time for the EU Summit in Ireland on the 25-26 June, which will be attended by George Bush.

One irony of the summit is that GB will be staying at Dromoland Castle, near Shannon; if the deal goes ahead as planned, the agreement that actually signals the end of the Shannon stopover may actually be signed less than 20 miles away! :D The Irish government has been trying to get the Americans to agree to a deal which would protect SNN, at least for 2-3 years, but with an Open Skies deal on the way, that seems to be out the window.