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Two years ago Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, mocked the idea of launching a low-cost international airline, but now he is proposing £7 flights to New York. What has changed is the agreement between Europe and the United States last month to liberalise air travel. The “open skies” agreement will allow any airline to fly from anywhere in Europe to anywhere in the US, giving low-cost carriers the flexibility needed to launch services capable of challenging entrenched incumbents such as British Airways and American Airlines. The “open skies” deal caught airlines off-guard. The industry had assumed that it...

Ryanair intends to launch a no-frills long-haul airline around the turn of the decade serving five or six US cities from its 23 European bases and offering fares as low as $12. The no-frills carrier will operate independently of Ryanair and buy a fleet of up to 50 Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s at a time when chief executive Michael O'Leary expects prices to dip following the current surge in orders. There has long been speculation that Ryanair will enter the long-haul market, but this is the first time O'Leary has outlined concrete plans. In an exclusive interview to be...

The Open Skies agreement between America and Europe has been hailed by airlines that see expansion opportunites outside their home continent. But airline unions see a threat to jobs. "Airlines need greater commercial freedom to run their businesses as real businesses," said Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of the International Air Transport Association. The Bush administration said Open Skies will create jobs, and United Airlines hailed the agreement, seeing expansion opportunity in Europe. Greg Davidowitch, president of the United Airlines master executive committee of the Association of Flight Attendants, disagrees. "These benefits are ambiguous, tenuous and will be short-lived at best," he...

The U.S. and European Union have reached a tentative agreement that would give airlines greater freedom to choose trans-Atlantic routes and potentially lead to lower fares, the government announced Friday. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said the agreement "will offer more choice and convenience to American consumers." While details of the pact were not released, it is intended to allow European airlines to fly from anywhere in the EU to any point in the U.S., and vice versa, while shedding rules that restrict how much carriers are allowed to charge fliers. EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said he would ask...

PARIS, May 2 -- The United States, facing strong domestic opposition to new rules that would permit European airlines a greater role in the management of American carriers they invest in, will delay the new regulations, officials involved in the negotiations said Tuesday. As a result, a European Union spokesman said, the union will not move forward this year with a landmark "open skies" agreement that probably would have led to lower air fares and new routes across the North Atlantic during this summer and autumn. Although the open skies agreement was reached months ago, the European Union has withheld...

'Open skies' air treaty threat · Draft pact curbs UK power to fight global warming · Restricting night flights would need US approval Andrew Clark, transport correspondent Monday February 20, 2006 Guardian Britain could lose its ability to impose environmental taxes, restrictions and safeguards on airlines under a draft treaty between the EU and US which curtails the power of national governments. The draft treaty, meant to liberalise aviation, includes a little noticed clause requiring EU states to reach agreement with each other and with the US before taking measures to tackle noise or pollution from airlines. The text of...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union reached a tentative deal on Friday to dramatically expand aviation service and boost competition on both sides of the Atlantic. Negotiators made substantial progress in the State Department-led talks this week on the breakthrough agreement, which must be reviewed by EU transport ministers, who will meet next month. Europe is conditioning approval on a crucial side issue -- the U.S. proposal to ease some limits on foreign investment in American carriers. European negotiators first want to ensure the Transportation Department plan is finalized and that it would facilitate greater investment...

BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Union Commission Tuesday formally called on European governments to renounce their bilateral air treaties with the U.S.