'Open Skies' Treaty Delayed Again Over Foreign Ownership Rules | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.06.24

Airborne-NextGen-04.30.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers--05.02.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.03.24

Fri, Aug 18, 2006

'Open Skies' Treaty Delayed Again Over Foreign Ownership Rules

Domestic Carriers Fighting Virgin Offshoot

Once again, a proposed "open skies" aviation pact between the US and the European Union was dealt a blow this week... when US officials warned that planned changes to airline ownership and control rules would not be ready in time for a crucial EU meeting set for October.

Acting US Transportation Secretary Mario Cino says intense political opposition to the idea of allowing greater foreign ownership in US airlines prevented an agreement to the new regs.

As Aero-News reported, a tentative agreement was reached between the two sides on the Open Skies treaty last November. That deal hinged, however, on a change in the ownership rules... and its acceptability to the EU.

And since that hasn't happened, the treaty, for the moment, is stillborn -- and according to an undersecretary at the DOT... there is "no specific timetable" at the moment to get it going again.

Just Ask Virgin America

If you need proof of how heated the issue of foreign ownership of airlines is, just ask Virgin America. For an airline that has yet to fly its first flight -- or even receive its operating license -- the upstart carrier is already riling up the domestic air travel industry.

Why? Well, as you may recall... several other carriers, most notably Continental, have been lobbying for months to keep the airline on the ground, and not competing with established carriers. Those airlines say the issue has to do with the question of foreign ownership -- as British-based Virgin Group owns 25 percent of the subsidiary, right at the limit under current US regulations.

But could it be instead... that airlines simply don't want another low-cost carrier sapping business, at a time when many of them are just now beginning to see black ink on their profit/loss sheets?

Some analysts contrast Virgin America's travails with the relatively simple approval process LCC JetBlue went through, six years ago. Of course, JetBlue is home-owned... and it began operations just before 9/11 put the airlines into a state of recession that still lingers.

The last thing those airlines want to see is another carrier taking a slice of the pie, which may just be the true issue here... regardless of who, ultimately, owns what.

FMI: www.eu.int, www.virginamerica.com

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.07.24): Hazardous Weather Information

Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.07.24)

Aero Linx: The T-6 Racing Association The T-6 Racing Association is all about T-6‘s and racing. Our mission is to bring great racing to our fans in Reno and other venues wher>[...]

Airborne 05.01.24: WACO Kitchen, FAA Reauthorization, World Skydiving Day

Also: Electra Aero, AMO-CBP v Smugglers, Naval King Airs, Boeing Deal To the surprise of everyone involved, Waco Kitchen shut down both airport operations with little warning and h>[...]

Airborne Affordable Flyers 05.02.24: Bobby Bailey, SPRG Report Cards, Skydive!

Also: WACO Kitchen Bails, French SportPlane Mfr to FL, Dynon-Advance Flight Systems, Innovation Preview Bobby Bailey, a bit of a fixture in sport aviation circles for his work with>[...]

Airborne 05.03.24: Advanced Powerplant Solutions, PRA Runway Woes, Drone Racing

Also: Virgin Galactic, B-29 Doc to Allentown, Erickson Fire-Fighters Bought, FAA Reauthorization After dealing with a big letdown after the unexpected decision by Skyreach to disco>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC