Free Flying

The airline industry awaits an important meeting in Washington this week, as Europe and the United States reconvene in an attempt to further unlock the skies across the pond.

Both sides will no doubt have seen how liberalization has helped in their domestic markets, particularly by enabling the boom in low-cost carriers, but that’s not to say that they’ll be forthcoming with many offers at this meeting.

One of the key rules of contention will most likely be foreign ownership of airlines, which is currently limited to 49% in many countries. The US last week said they want to keep this rule, but would however, allow foreigners to run domestic carriers. The Economist called this “a token gesture”, warning that in the absence of any better offers, Britain would likely play its joker and try to block any opening up of Heathrow Airport to more American carriers, which is currently limited to United and American.

If these preambles are anything to go by, prospects for this meeting aren’t too rosy, exacerbated no doubt by the ever fiercening Boeing – Airbus spat.