Originally Posted by
hayzel7773
Apparently 2/7 weekly to Italy air rights is currently held by BR(consolation prize by the CAA when they burned them of the rights they negotiated). The Italy bilateral is 7/week, of which 5 are allocated to CI's FCO flight.
If that's the case, BR can hold it for maximum of 6 month when CI applies for the rights (I remember the rules were changed when BR was holding the CDG rights with cargo). In short, BR will have to fly to somewhere in Italy within 6 months of CI's application or forgone the rights.
Technically leaving BR with just 1 frequency simply means no routes will be opened, so CI is not in a hurry to use up all the rights. However, with many 787s coming in, CI should probably start Milan early and apply for the rights to force BR to start a flight in Italy or give up.