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India, U.S. to ink open skies deal
By agencies
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Wednesday, 13 April 2005, 19:30 IST
WASHINGTON:India and the U.S. are poised to sign a far-reaching ‘open skies’ agreement that will liberalize air travel between the two countries.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel had talks here with U.S. transportation secretary Norman Y Mineta to replace a nearly half-century-old agreement that restricts flight frequencies, destinations and pricing.
Patel said he expected the pact to be ready within a couple of months. But Mineta felt it would be in place by the end of this month. The agreement will not need congressional approval.
The Indo-U.S. civil aviation sector is reckoned to be a fast-growing market that already handles 1.5 million travelers a year.
Yet, right now, only three carriers — Air-India and the U.S’s Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines — are operating direct flights between the two countries.
With the new pact, it should be possible for Air-India to fly to more U.S. cities.