Julian Moxon/PARIS
Differences between France and the USA over an open-skies agreement have widened following US insistence that Air France's proposed alliances with Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines will not be approved until a bilateral between the two countries is concluded.
The French Government has made it clear that it does not intend to bring forward the date for the next bilateral meeting, which has been delayed until September. It is maintaining silence over the recent assertion from US Department of Transportation (DoT) undersecretary for international affairs, Charles Hunnicut, that there would be no going forward on the alliances until France yields to US proposals. "While there is still no bilateral agreement, we will not be ready to authorise strategic alliances for French airlines, or to allow them to increase significantly their capacities," he told the US Congress.
France had tabled a proposal for a nine-year transition period to full open-skies arrangements between the two countries, although this is under review by the new socialist French Government.
Air France has started limited co-operation with Delta and Continental by easing connections through Paris Charles de Gaulle, following the US airlines' move from Orly, and has linked frequent-flier programmes, but cannot move to a full codesharing alliance until a new air agreement is in place. France withdrew from the original accord with the USA in 1992 after a dispute over capacities.
Delta has called on the US Government to take a "pragmatic" approach to the forthcoming negotiations. "While we differ philosophically with the French view that the marketplace continues to need some capacity limits for a period of years, we believe the USA must respect this position and negotiate accordingly."
Source: Flight International
