U.S., Japan In Route Accord
<H1>U.S., Japan In Route Accord</H1> <I>Washington, D.C. </I>- The United States and Japan last week settled a number of contentious route disputes and moved a step closer to convening negotiations on the broader issue of the future of airline passenger service between the two countries.
While the Department of Transportation stopped short of declaring the way now clear to opening full-scale bilateral talks with Japan, DOT Secretary Federico Peña said, "While there remains work to be done on resolving current disputes before we can consider moving toward more comprehensive discussions on our significant aviation disagreements, we are hopeful that we can continue to move in a positive direction with Japan."
A split among U.S. carriers on the policy direction the United States should take with Japan is a key factor that is stalling the administration's decision on whether to rewrite the air services pact (BTN, March 4, April 22).