OAG Travel News

Foreign ownership of airline in America topped the agenda when the EU-US Open Skies talks resumed in Washington last week.

The talks aimed at securing “Stage Two” of an agreement, also covered cabotage  -  the right for foreign airlines to run domestic services in the US.

This was the latest round of the Stage Two talks which began in May.

Stage One of the EU-US agreement,  which basically opened up European airports, including London don Heathrow to US  carriers, came into force in March.

Daniel Calleja, the EC’s director of air transport, told reports that the talks, following Stage One, were about “unfinished business.”

He was quoted by ATW as saying that "Europe's objective is to complete the transatlantic liberalisation” and that allowing investment by foreign airlines in American carriers was paramount 

"We call this normalising the aviation industry,” he said.

"Europe would like to deal with aviation like any other economic sector. Why shouldn't aviation make foreign investment opportunities available like in banking or other industries?"

He added that the EU also wanted to see a "further liberalisation of traffic rights."

"That means European airlines flying freely in the US and US companies flying freely in Europe. At the end of the day, you need full access on both sides," Mr Calleja said.

Source: www.abtn.co.uk By Stanley Slaughter