American Express Business Travel reported lower second-quarter published airfares in Europe, the Middle East and Africa

. "Economy lowest" fares fell nearly 11 percent year over year, while "business lowest" fares were down 4 percent. Citing new competition made possible by the European Union-United States Open Skies agreement, Amex noted average business class fare declines from London to certain U.S. airports, including Newark (down 25 percent year over year), New York JFK (down 24 percent) and Los Angeles and Seattle (each down 9 percent).