"@ BBFive.
You are wrong. It is impossible for a European company to take cargo from let's say JFK to LAX. And that is because of protectionism on behalve of the usa.
And second, I would say about 350+ who are working for or EAT or DHL UK which are both completely owned by DHL
And by the way, when DHL was operating in the states, they were still employing americans.
It is just abnormal that fedex & ups are flying in europe with N-registered a/c & faa-crews. If the european union would get the same laws about cabotage as the states has , this would not be possible! Unfortunately the european union does not have the power yet to impose such laws. As here , those usa operators make agreements with individual contries.
There is an open-skies agreement in europe. but not in the states."
Actually, MrIkea, you might start with an ICAO refresher here:
Freedoms of the air - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You're comparing apples and oranges, in that the Freedoms of the Air are codified in treaties between and among COUNTRIES, not continents.
Note that the countries of the EU have signed a multilateral agreement to allow cabotage AMONG THEMSELVES, but that doesn't include the rest of the world. FedEx (using U.S. crews and N-registered aircraft) may pick up French origination freight in Paris and fly it to Germany (Frankfurt e.g.), but not to Marseilles. (5th freedom, but no 8th freedom)
To the rest of the world, there is no such thing as a "European Airline" (what's the registration letter for the EU again?). Rather there are airlines that belong to various European nations. Any of those airlines may operate in and through the U.S. on exactly the same terms as a U.S. airline may operate in and through that country (i.e. no cabotage).
It's not a case of the U.S needing to adopt EU cabotage laws. European nations once had the same cabotage laws as the U.S. but chose to cede their sovereignty on this (and other) issues.