FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Fly America Act [UuA on BA metal, AA code]
Old Jan 21, 2022, 11:58 am
  #24  
CKBA
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: US/UK - and elsewhere
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,559
Originally Posted by warakorn
Will the UK be still a part of the EU Air Treaty after Brexit?
...after a long pause... No.
Another Brexit benefit (not).I emailed gsa.gov to seek clarification over the new 'arrangements' (see below), and while the UK government lauded a new open skies agreement, it misses out the bit that allows the foreign carrier to carry pax on a equal footing as any US carriers - i.e. it just allows BA to operate over US airspace.

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I am seeking clarification regarding the Fly America Act, and in particular the provisions made under the OpenSkies Agreement.

On your website, https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/policy/travel-management-policy/fly-america-act (accessed 17-Jan-2022), it states that:

“Note: As of January 1, 2021, The United Kingdom (U.K.) is no longer a member of the EU. Consequently, the Open Skies Agreement with the EU does not pertain to the U.K. Travelers must use a U.S. Flag Carrier to travel from the U.S. to the U.K. and not a U.K. airline (e.g., British Airways), unless they use a different Fly America Act exception. Travelers may continue to use an EU agreement for travel from the U.S. to the U.K. as long as the flight stops in the EU prior to arrival in the U.S. or the U.K.”

However, while the EU Open Skies Agreement no longer applies specifically to the UK, a new US-UK agreement was signed in November 2020, as noted here: https://www.state.gov/u-s-uk-air-transport-agreement-of-november-2020/ (accessed 17-Jan-2022).

In particular, it is noted on https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/united-states-and-united-kingdom-sign-new-open-skies-agreement (accessed 17-Jan-2022), that the agreement was concluded in November 2018 to safeguard transatlantic flights post-Brexit and allow for the development of new air services. It was signed by the US and UK in November 2020 and applies from Jan. 1, 2021. The US DOT noted that:

The agreement meets all the criteria of the US open-skies policy and provides for new, additional traffic rights for US all-cargo operations to and from the United Kingdom. The agreement also includes the UK overseas territories and crown dependencies, expanding and modernizing our air transport relationship with those regions.

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The response was:
The UK open skies agreement does not have the provision "Government procured transportation" like the other three have.

In practice, such "U.S. Government Procured Transportation" provisions are used to grant additional rights to carriers that might not otherwise be granted. For example, the current "U.S. Government Procured Transportation" provision in the US-EU open skies agreement permits EU airlines 1) the right to transport civilian agency-funded passengers who are NOT eligible to travel on a CPP contract fare (for example, contractor personnel), between a point in the United States and a point outside the United States even if there is a CPP contract fare in effect between the origin and destination points; and 2) the right to transport passengers who ARE eligible to travel on CPP fares (for example, U.S. Government employees), between any point in the United States and any point outside the United States for which there is NOT a CPP fare in effect. These additional rights granted to EU airlines, which are foreign air carriers, act as an authorized exception to the Fly America Act (49 U.S.C. 40118).

UK is just like the other 120 All open skies agreements with the U.S. -- controls who can fly in the U.S. airspace.
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