US, Brazil reach open-skies aviation pact

US and Brazil negotiators have agreed the framework for an open-skies aviation treaty that would liberalise one of the most restrictive international airline pacts in Latin America by 2015, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

The proposed deal would start ending restrictions on the number of flights between the countries from next year, with barriers on the busiest routes--notably to and from Sao Paulo's congested airports--coming down from 2013.

The pact agreed on December 3 expands a 2008 agreement that increased services between the countries, and would also make Brazilian airlines eligible to secure anti-trust immunity within the global alliances that dominate the industry, according to industry sources.

Colombia last month became the 100th country to agree an open-skies deal with the US, while Chile, Panama and Peru have had the liberalised pacts in place for more than a decade.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)