France and US seal 'open skies' deal

The deal should enable Air France to further its alliance with Delta

France and the US have reached agreement on freeing up the rules on air travel between the two countries.

The agreement brings liberalisation of aviation forward from 2003, and effectively gives US and French airlines unlimited access to each other's airports.

Quotas on passenger and freight flights will be lifted from the end of this year.

That should clear the way for Air France and US carrier Delta Airlines to deepen their alliance, co-ordinating fares and schedules.

US regulators had set an 'open skies' agreement as a pre-condition for granting the deal anti-trust immunity.

"The accord which has just been negotiated will speed up the pace of Franco-American air transport development," France's transport ministry said in a statement.

Opening up other skies

The deal may increase the pressure on the UK to reach its own open skies deal with the US, so that British Airways and American Airlines can win consent for their own tie-up.

Anti-trust immunity would effectively allow the two companies to operate as one.

Part of the reason France and the US may be keen to reach agreement quickly is fear that the European Court of Justice may rules that such bilateral deals don't have a legal basis.

Talks between France and the US have been far less acrimonious than those between the US and the UK.