THE USA AND POLAND have amended their air-services agreement, to expand route rights and clear the way, for limited codesharing, between Polish and US air carriers.
Announcing the new pact, US Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena said that he hopes to "...continue to liberalise our aviation relations with Poland, to achieve the same open-skies environment we have created with many other European countries".
Although there are some immediate alterations to the agreement, the changes will largely be phased in by late 1998. Over the period, the number of points, which may be served by each side's air carriers, will gradually increase. By 1 November, 1998, Polish carriers - effectively national airline LOT-Polish Airlines - will be able to serve two new US cities and ten additional US points through code-sharing deals.
The deal was immediately followed by US approval for a code-sharing agreement between American Airlines and LOT. Delta is the only US carrier serving Poland at present.
By the same date, US carriers will be allowed to serve two additional Polish cities and three others via codesharing. The agreement also allows carriers to code-share with third-country airlines, from 1 November 1996.
Source: Flight International
