Europe and Canada Open Skies Agreement Approved

The European transport ministers openly gave their support for the new open skies agreement between Canada and Europe. This agreement will allow airlines located in both Europe and Canada to fly freely between their borders.

Both Canada and Europe agree that this new agreement could allow for great control, as well as ownership between European and Canadian airlines. This would be due to the fact that the open skies agreement makes all the restrictions much more relaxed.

As a result of the new deal, the Canadian government does plan to increase its limits on foreign ownership. The goal is to increase the limit of voting stock from 25% to 49% Due to these increased limits, such major Canadian carriers as WestJet Airlines and Air Canada are both said to be receptive to outside investment.

Also, due to the new open skies agreement, existing restrictions, as well as high prices and the frequency of flights between Europe and Canada, are going to be replaced. This will most likely dropping the price of flights between the two countries, as well as increasing the number of flights that travel between the two countries every month.

The European Commission says that this could be very beneficial to the European economy. The deal could result in more than 500,000 more passengers for airlines in just its first year alone. On top of this, the European Commission also notes that it is likely to create more than 1,000 new jobs. In all, this new deal could bring in more than €72m in economic benefits. These kinds of benefits are also very likely for Canada end as well.