Media reports suggest the EU may today finalise an "open skies" accord with the US, which would allow any European or US airline to fly trans-Atlantic routes between any two cities. Currently, European carriers may fly to US destinations only from their home countries. The deal has been five years in the making.

A multilateral study on the benefits of open skies says that liberalised trans-Atlantic routes can generate up to US$7.8 billion in economic value. According to The Economic Impact of Air Service- Liberalization, "a Comprehensive First Step Air Transport Agreement between the US and the European Union would result in a 29% increase in traffic ... Over 117,000 new jobs would be created, and incremental GDP would approximate US$7.8 billion."

However, environmental concerns risk sinking the deal at the eleventh hour, despite aviation contributing only about 3% to the EU's overall greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report in the International Herald Tribune.

The full executive summary of the air liberalisation report, which was jointly sponsored by PATA, PATA member Boeing and other global travel organisations, is available in the PATA members-only zone: www.PATA.org/login.