What does the 'Open Skies' agreement mean for travellers to Europe?

MAR

What does the 'Open Skies' agreement mean for travellers to Europe?

This Sunday the United States-European Union "open skies" agreement takes effect. This agreement means U.S. airlines can fly in and out of any European airport. What does that mean?

Well, for one example, if you fly Delta to London, you may no longer be relegated to flights to Gatwick, and can instead begin flying into Heathrow, where most intra-European flights then connect. Continental and Northwest will also be allowed to land at Heathrow.

Because this agreement will open new routes, maybe even to and from smaller cities, some experts anticipate fares to drop. There's even talk of no-frills cheap airline Ryan-Air offering flights on a new airline between England and the United States for as little as 10 euros. Don't expect to see fares like that on the big carriers obviously -- the anticipated fare cuts hover around 15%. However, with a recent summer flight from Cincinnati to Rome ringing in at $1400 (had I not used miles) that 15% could add a few dollars to travellers pockets -- dollars they'll need with the current cost of the euro.

Learn more about the Open Skies Agreement.

Forbes
The New York Times

TAGS: flights heathrow open-skies ryanair