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London: British Airways (BA) Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh wants the European Union and the US to agree to a second stage of a treaty that would further liberalise trans-Atlantic flying.
The first stage of the so-called open skies treaty comes into effect at the end of this month after being approved a year ago. A second stage, due for discussion in May, would allow foreign carriers greater access to the US by letting them fly domestic flights or acquire more than 50 per cent of a domestic airline.
"We want Stage 2 to sweep away the outdated restrictions on the ownership and control of airlines, so that EU investors can take majority stakes in US airlines and vice versa," Walsh said Friday in a speech to the New York Wings Club in Dublin. "Genuine deregulation" would lead to more industry efficiency and consumer benefits, he said.
The first stage of the treaty ends the lock that London-based British Airways and three other carriers had on trans-Atlantic flights from London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport. It also allows EU carriers to fly to the US from any of the bloc's countries instead of just their home nations.
BA is taking advantage by starting a subsidiary called OpenSkies that will fly from Paris to New York starting in June.
The airline is also boosting the number of US flights it operates from Heathrow by moving services from London Gatwick airport and offering more flights to New York, Seattle and Washington.
Raising capacity
Capacity between Heath-row and the US for this summer's flight schedule season is up 21 per cent from a year earlier, according to Aviation Economics.
The UK's Civil Aviation Authority forecast fares across the Atlantic may fall by as much as 10 per cent as a result of the treaty.
"British Airways was not too enthusiastic about the agreement, but we are pragmatists," Walsh said yesterday.
"We have accepted the new rules and are prepared to take advantage of them wherever we can. The EU should use this time to mobilise public opinion behind a radical liberalisation and the consumer benefits it would bring."
On March 3, UK billionaire Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic Airways, the second-biggest user of Heathrow, said he also would like to see the second stage of open skies implemented.
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