IN January, the United States and European Union sat down at the table and hammered out a new agreement, changing the rules on how airlines may operate between the two. Called “Open Skies,” it takes effect on March 30. But what does it all mean?
THE CHANGES
In the past, bilateral agreements have dictated that European Union carriers may only operate nonstop services from their home country.
From March 30, they may do so from any European country, to any American airport of their choosing. United States airlines may also fly wherever they want. Both can charge whatever they want, as well.
(Phase Two, set for 2010, would let EU countries own and operate US airlines. Perhaps they’d have a better time keeping them out of bankruptcy, but that, friends, is another story for another time.)
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?
Well, the possibility of fewer connections, for one thing. The agreement allows for any combo; in theory, Alitalia could operate a historic new route between Helsinki and Boise if it felt like it.
Perhaps most importantly, the agreement ends another agreement that limits the use of Heathrow for transatlantic flights to British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, and American Airlines.
What you won’t see: European airlines flying between two US airports – that’s still verboten.
WHERE CAN I GO?
Expect to see plenty of routes over the coming year. British Airways got so excited, it is launching an airline called OpenSkies.
BA expects to fly daily between New York and Paris or Brussels beginning in June, adding six more routes throughout the year – none of which will stop in London.
Air France will start a new Los Angeles to London route. KLM will fly from Dallas to Amsterdam, starting March 30. Detroit gets a new Heathrow flight from Northwest this spring, which is also planning daily Heathrow flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul and Seattle.
Aer Lingus got a little jump on the agreement through an arrangement between the Irish and US governments, and launched service from Dublin to Washington, DC, Orlando, and San Francisco.
DOES IT MEAN I’LL PAY LESS?
Maybe. Flights to Heathrow are historically far more expensive than flights to Gatwick, and with more flights between your airport and Heathrow, those high prices could fall closer in line.
Time will tell with other routes, but the consensus is that with trans-Atlantic flights as competitive as they are, a few new routes won’t change prices much.
ANY FLIES IN THE OINTMENT?
While Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 opens up this month, which means freeing some space for airlines like Northwest, Continental and Delta, the airport is operating at nearly maximum capacity already, so while it’s good on paper, new flights will still be limited.
Some airlines, like Virgin Atlantic, are actually canceling plans for service until they see if Open Skies will take.
Virgin had announced that it would launch a business-only carrier (a la Eos or Silverjet, or the now-defunct MaxJet) between European cities and New York, but ruled it out as too risky, since the agreement could be reversed in 2010.
I think I can
The train in Spain speeds up
WHAT happens when you complete a project linking two major cities together by high-speed rail, bringing them closer together than ever before? If you’re Spain, you bury the news like a dead body. On February 21, with little or no fanfare, the Spanish government marked a major milestone in its plan to lay a total of 4,350 miles of high-speed track by 2010, which would link all the provincial capitals to Madrid in under four hours. What happened?
Hard to say, really. Something about Madrid and Barcelona now being as little as 2 hours and 38 minutes away from each other, via AVE (Spain’s high-speed trains).
THIS IS A BIG DEAL
Huge, in fact. What is nearly a 400-mile journey can now be made in the time it used to take the Eurostar to do the 290-odd miles between London and Paris (that journey’s now 2 hours and 15 minutes). This is one swift train.
HOW TO GET TICKETS
Log on to renfe.es, and click on the English-language section – helpfully hidden away behind the Spanish words, “Seleccione su idioma.”
There’s frequent, daily service, but as with other high-speed routes in Europe, it pays to book in advance.
For example, one-way fares currently start at $155 online. An advance fare, however, goes down to $94.
David Landsel