The USA and Thailand have announced "major progress" in talks to agree the basic framework for a new bilateral agreement.
As a result, negotiators have been instructed to begin formal negotiations at soon as possible. The two countries have been at loggerheads for several months over the deal.
US Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, visiting Bangkok as part of an Asian-wide tour, says that, "...aviation relations with Thailand are back on track".
The collapse of the second round of Indian-US bilateral talks in Washington in early November has put a question mark over the proposed Air India/United Airlines code-share flights scheduled to start on 15 December.
With the two sides failing to agree on limiting US carriers' access to India and allowing Air India to fly to more US cities, the ratification of the commercial agreement entered into by the two airlines has also been stalled.
The talks centred on India's demand for a "voluntary restraint" by US carriers from expanding capacity into India for the next five years, and for Air India to be given access to Chicago and Washington.
While the USA was prepared to offer Chicago as an additional route, it wanted India to open its skies to cargo airlines such as FedEx - a demand, which was largely responsible for the impasse.
Source: Flight International
