OTTAWA
| Feb.
9
, 2007 — Canada
hopes to succeed where the United States has failed in negotiating a new
transatlantic airline agreement with the European Union to reduce fares,
create jobs and increase trade.
 |
| Canadian airlines could soon find more company
on the ground. |
That became a possibility early this year when the European Commission
took the first steps toward negotiating an "Open Skies" agreement
that would dramatically deregulate air travel between Canada and all
27 European Union countries.
Canada already has 17 different Open Skies
treaties with individual European countries. The agreement would open
the trans-border European market to Canadian airlines but Europe would
not gain access to the routes between Canada and the United States.
The problem with the U.S.
For European air carriers to serve these North American routes, the
European Union must negotiate separate treaties with both Canada and
the U.S. Europe has been in talks with the United States since 2003.
 |
Jim Facette,
President and CEO
Canadian Airports Council
Q:
What is an open skies agreement?
 A [0:31]
Q: Are open skies
agreements inceasingly necessary to be
competitive internationally?
A [0:31]
Q: Why do you
believe an Open Skies agreement would work between Canada
and the EU while the EU and US negotiations have failed?
A [0:26]
Q: What advantages
could Canadians see if an Open Skies agreement with the
EU comes to fruition?
A [0:30] |
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Bill Mosley, a
spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation says, "There
was a text of an Open Skies agreement reached well over a year ago."
But
Mosley says it was contingent on allowing more foreign ownership of
U.S. airlines. "There was a great deal of opposition expressed
to that in Congress," says Mosley. "After a time, we withdrew
the proposal."
When asked if this failure might reduce the incentive for Europe
to sign an agreement with Canada because European airlines could not
access the profitable U.S. – Canada market Mosley simply answers, "Yes."
Negotiations between the U.S. and the EU were going nowhere until
early February when the two sides began talking again. No one will
comment on the likelihood of striking a deal.
Roy Christensen, a spokesman for the European Commission in Canada,
says the European Parliament still has to approve a mandate
to negotiate with Canada.
"We expect it will be unanimous," says
Christensen.
He says the Commission is moving forward because
a study it commissioned indicates significant benefits coming from increased
passengers and business between
Canada and Europe.
Christensen says, "With
an open
aviation
agreement there would be
an increase
from 8 to 14 million
[passengers] by 2011."
 |
| Calling all Europeans. |
The study also concluded an Open Skies agreement would create 3,700
jobs in its first year. Christensen
cautions it will be a long time before any deal takes shape and is signed.
"We want an agreement
that replaces the 17 bilateral ones but not one that only replaces it,
one that goes further. How much further? I don't know. It
depends on how far the Canadians are willing to go."
Christensen says, "It's not going to happen this year. It's
something that takes time."
Blue skies
The EU's move comes after the Harper government released a report
titled "Blue Sky" that proposes pursuing open aviation agreements
between Canada and other countries.
Despite that policy statement, when it comes to Europe, Canada is more
hesitant than the optimistic Europeans.
Lucie Vignola, a spokesperson with
Transport Canada, says the government had not planned to announce the
talks but the EU issued a news release.
"The EU opened up the door," says
Vignola. "It's too early to tell [if] there would be
increased flights which would hopefully lead to lower fares." The
first step won't happen until after the European Parliament meets on
March 9. 
|
Canadian Transportation Agency 