The UK government has admitted it will seek a phased open skies agreement on services between the UK and USA when formal negotiations on a new bilateral treaty resume in mid-June. Following two days of informal talks in the UK, which ended on 20 May, the two sides say that "discussions were productive", with the UK seeking "a phased liberalisation of air services".
The statement formalises the shift in the UK position from seeking a full open skies deal - allowing British Airways to enter into an immediate alliance with American Airlines - to its current stance of securing staged liberalisation over the next few years. BA and American are themselves planning to phase in their alliance.
Sources say the US side also raised the case of Trans World Airlines, which hopes to transfer St Louis-London Gatwick services to London Heathrow as a trade-off for the USA making British Midland's Heathrow-New York application exempt from the current bilateral.
Source: Flight International
