The European Union and Canada on Dec. 17 signed an Open Skies agreement liberalizing commercial air traffic between the two markets. The deal lifts all restrictions on routes, pricing and frequency. It means that any EU or Canadian airline can operate a transatlantic service between Canada and any EU country, even if it is not their home market.
An Open Skies deal between the EU and United States
came into effect in March 2008. The EU-Canada agreement has one crucial difference, which is that it also removes restrictions on EU airlines investing in or starting airlines in Canada and vice versa. A refusal by the United States to agree to similar liberalization of ownership controls is proving the main point of contention in negotiations for
the second phase of its Open Skies agreement with the European Union.
Air Canada, meanwhile, said it regards last week's agreement not only as an opportunity to build direct travel links between Canada and the European Union but also to develop Toronto as a transatlantic hub serving the entire Americas. "This new agreement opens up a realm of new commercial opportunities for Air Canada throughout the EU," said Duncan Dee, the airline's executive vice president and COO. "It allows Air Canada to further develop Canada as a gateway to the world by capitalizing on travel demand between Canada, the U.S., Latin America and Europe."
Also last week, non-EU European states Iceland and Norway joined the EU-U.S. Open Skies agreement, and the EU signed an aviation liberalization agreement with the eight members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.