Japan, US reach Open Skies agreement
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The USA and Japan have agreed on a draft ‘Open Skies’ treaty, removing government limits on flights between the two nations, including restrictions on the prices carriers can charge and markets they can serve. According to a Bloomberg report, the agreement will enable the two nations to act like a single entity for pricing, scheduling and marketing global flights. The US Transportation Department was reported saying that the government is aiming to put the treaty into action by October 2010.
The move is a huge boost to the deals being discussed between US and Japanese carriers, including the moves by American Airlines and Delta to invest in JAL, as well as United Airlines’ application for antitrust immunity along with ANA and Continental. The US requires an Open Skies agreement to be in place before approves antitrust immunity.
US Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, said that Open Skies is “good news for air travelers and businesses on both sides of the Pacific”.
“American and Japanese consumers, airlines and economies will enjoy the benefits of competitive pricing and more convenient service,” Bloomberg quoted LaHood as saying
Approximately 178 million international airline passengers traveled in and out of the US last year, and 56.5 million did so in Japan, according to the International Air Transport Association.
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