The US has floated a joint approach to open skies talks with the Asia-Pacific region for the first time. While cynics view the move as an attempt to kick-start stalled talks with Japan and deflect attention from the European focus of recent policy, some officials argue it is a genuine bid to shift the aeropolitical debate.
A joint approach to Asia had been ruled out in the past by the region's fragmented politics and diverse markets, though Singapore has long supported open skies and the US has made progress in recent months with the Philippines and Thailand. However the new 15-page plan has received a favourable response after its circulation to a group of countries including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand.
The responses were encouraging enough for two senior US transportation officials, Mark Gerchick and Ed Oppler, and the state department's Joel Spiro to make a formal trip to the region in October.
Clearly, there will be many issues to resolve if the joint approach continues to hold favour. Not least among the uncertainties is the outcome of elections in the US, Japan and New Zealand. A change in administration in any country could alter plans significantly. 'The question we haven't answered is what the critical mass of the group is in terms of numbers of countries - four, six, seven or whatever,' adds one official. And in contrast to Asia, most of the European countries that agreed to open skies with the US in the past 18 months have almost complete liberalisation among themselves.
Whatever the true motivation, the plan was then followed by a series of letters between US transportation secretary Federico Peña and Japan's transport minister, Yoshiyuki Kamai. This in turn generated an exchange of communiques between US president Bill Clinton and Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.
The communications followed the collapse of US-Japan talks in August after they hit an impasse over fifth freedom services for US carriers beyond Tokyo and new services for Japan Airlines to Honolulu. The exchange was an apparent attempt to revive the flagging talks.
'These letters did not come out of the blue,' says a US negotiator. 'There had been several back and forth. Kamai and Peña had been the pen pals.'
This set the stage for Clinton to try and launch open skies talks with Hashimoto. Government sources say the US is serious about broadening the talks, though critics view it as an attempt to pressure Japan back to the table. Hashimoto responded quickly to the suggestion and, while rejecting open skies, he did suggest a broader discussion at a more senior government level.
Mead Jennings
NewslineSource: Airline Business
