Just moments after hearing the news of the European Commission vote, Continental Airlines Inc., (CAL) applied for an amended application with the Department of Transportation for routes to London Heathrow and various other European cities. Continental Airlines wants to fly direct from their Houston hub to London's Heathrow Airport by 2008. Of course that would depend on obtaining government approval and necessary slots and facilities.
"Our customers have always wanted more options for accessing London, and the open skies agreement will allow us to give our customers the convenience of choosing between Heathrow and Gatwick for their London travel plans," said Larry Kellner, Chairman and CEO of Continental Airlines.
Continental has also announced that it will inaugurate service to Paris in 2008 from the airline's hub at Cleveland where it operates seasonal service to London/Gatwick.
Many other airlines are backing the open skies agreement. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are two other airlines that would benefit from an open skies agreement.
James May, president of the Air Transport Association said. "This 'open skies' agreement paves the way for much-desired increased service between the United States and Europe. It has the potential to provide enormous benefits to our respective customers and economies."
I think this open skies agreement is a very good thing. It will allow for more carriers to offer more flights from more cities all in the attempt to lower prices for consumers. If it actually lowers prices, that will be the big question.
this isn't really that surprising, Continental asking for permission to fly IAH-LHR...the carriers left out of Bermuda II (mostly Skyteam) have been hurting on international connections because of CO, NW, and DL not being able to serve LHR. I agree that open skies will help get more competition into the market, but again, we don't know if airfare prices will come down. My best guess is it will, but not by much, taking into account rising oil prices.
Posted by: jon | March 23, 2007 3:36 AM | Permalink to Comment