After nearly three years of talks, Hong Kong and the USA have finally settled on a new air services agreement that gives US airlines significantly more rights to operate beyond the former UK colony to third countries in Asia.
Although the US side did not get an open-skies deal as initially sought, the agreement is seen as a major boost for US carriers.
The new memorandum of understanding on air services allows US all-cargo carriers to operate 64 weekly flights between Hong Kong and third countries, rather than the current eight. The rights will be phased in over three years.
It also allows US passenger carriers to operate 28 additional weekly flights between Hong Kong and third countries, phased in over a two-year period, according to the US Department of Transportation.
Carriers from both sides will now be allowed to fly between Hong Kong and any US city. The old air services agreement reached between Hong Kong and the USA in 1995 only allowed for services between Hong Kong and six gateways in the continental USA.
The main benefit for Hong Kong airlines will be new provisions allowing for codesharing, enabling Oneworld alliance partners American Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways to go ahead with longstanding plans to co-operate on services.
Hong Kong carriers will be able to serve 25 US cities on a codeshare basis with US airlines, phased in over two years, while airlines from both sides will have unlimited rights to codeshare on US-Hong Kong flights of third country airlines.
Although US airlines generally welcome the agreement, Cathay says it is disappointed with the fifth-freedom component "which is a clear unbalanced exchange in favour of the US carriers".
Source: Flight International
