New U.S.-China air deal on the table
NEW YORK: First it was the United States and Europe getting hitched with an Open Skies agreement, due to be consumated on April 30, and now the U.S. is snuggling up to China with a similar proposal.
United States transportation secretary Mary Peters is seeking to conclude a new Open Skies agreement with China by May and have it working by the end of the year.
A previous accord between the two countries signed in 2004 offered little scope for U.S. airlines seeking greater access to China.
Peters said she wants to see regulatory barriers for passenger services lowered. “Demand for nonstop U.S.-China service is there, but unfortunately the supply is not,” she said.
Referring to gains resulting from the 2004 agreement Peters said, “the number of passengers travelling between China and the United States [in 2006] was more than double the 2003 level”.
Speaking in China, Peters said the willingness of both sides to deliver a new agreement “was evidence of the tremendous advances we have made since 2004 in opening and expanding air services between our two great nations”.
An agreement would be aimed at dropping restrictions on trans-Pacific flights and later allowing U.S. carriers to fly through China to other countries, Peters said.
Chinese airlines have found it difficult to compete on U.S.-China routes and are not using all the frequencies they are eligible for under the existing aviation agreement.
Another stumbling block cited by Chinese negotiators is the difficulty Chinese travellers face in obtaining a US visa.
This was an issue where “perception lags reality”, Peters said, indicating that a U.S. visa could be processed in Shanghai in about two days.
Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines, said the markets between the United States and China were still “greatly underserved”.
American bid unsuccessfully last year for a Dallas-Beijing route. Both Delta and Continental say they will take up opportunities to launch flights to China from the U.S.
Ian Jarrett
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