Call for speedy pact on open skies

BRITISH Airways chief executive Rod Eddington has set the tone for this week's talks between the European Union and the US on liberalising transatlantic air routes, with a call for fast-tracking moves towards an open skies agreement.

'It is time for the US to roll up its sleeves, get down to business and build an environment where global airlines can at last become a reality,' he said. EU and US transport officials will meet in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, along with executives from some of the major airlines whose regulatory landscape could be transformed.

Eddington, in an article in the Financial Times, warned the US against timidity at a time when global aviation is more financially strapped than ever before. He said the US administration needed to look beyond the short-term problems and said that in the longer term, deregulation would benefit both the industry and consumers.

'Success will bring big rewards: the benefits to consumers may be of the order of $5bn (£3bn) a year,' Eddington said. 'If it were left to the market, international airlines would undoubtedly follow in the footsteps of other industries and would seek the benefits of scale and scope that are currently denied them.'

But Eddington's view is likely to fall on deaf ears in Washington. The chief US negotiator, State Department Under-Secretary John Byerly, has indicated he wants to limit agreement to a quick deal to replace existing arrangements.

The EU wants access to domestic flight paths in the US, currently only open to US carriers.