Impact of the 2007 U.S.-EU Open Skies Air Transport Agreement

摘要

On March 2, 2007, the United States and the European Union (EU) concluded a comprehensive air transport agreement with the 27 EU countries. The agreement, which was signed in conjunction with the April 30, 2007, U.S.-EU Summit in Washington, D.C., has tremendous potential for transforming air travel and trade across the Atlantic. The U.S.-EU economic relationship has contributed to commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic. It has opened investment, promoted trade in goods and services, and enabled the mobility of persons through initiatives such as the Visa Waiver Program. The United States and the EU lead liberalization efforts in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and they continue to work together to remove the remaining economic barriers. The U.S. aviation relationship with the European Union and the member states, however, has not kept pace with our larger economic and commercial ties. The EU and the United States are the two largest air transport markets in the world. Together they account for more than half of all global scheduled passenger traffic and 71.7 percent of the worlds freighter fleet. Open Skies agreements remove regulatory limits on the number of carriers a country may designate, the number of flights, the routes flown, and the type of aircraft an airline may use. Open routing provisions that permit unlimited flights between the parties also allow carriers to continue flights on to third-country markets. While removing barriers to market entry and service, the agreements affirm the critical operations of civil aviation, such as safety and security. The agreements cover operations by scheduled and charter operators, for passenger and all-cargo services.