BajaNews - 12-15-2005 at 06:54 AM
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-en...
More airlines now can fly between U.S. cities and 14 Mexican destinations
By Eric Green
Washington -- The United States and Mexico have signed a new aviation accord that increases the number of airlines that can fly between U.S. cities
and 14 destinations in Mexico.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a December 12 statement that the agreement, signed that day in Mexico City, increases from two to three
the number of airlines that passengers in each country can select from when flying between the United States and the 14 Mexican cities, which include
all of Mexico's major tourist destinations.
The agreement expands on a similar 1999 pact that allowed the two airlines from each country to operate between U.S. and Mexican destinations.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said tourists in the United States and Mexico now will have "more flights to choose from when planning
their next vacation," adding: "Travelers in markets covered by this new agreement will enjoy better service as well as the benefits of greater
competition."
The Mexican cities covered in the accord are Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel, Guadalajara, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Loreto, Manzanillo, Mazatlan,
Merida, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo.
Mineta said the agreement is also "good news" for air-cargo carriers in both countries. For example, Mineta said an unlimited number of scheduled
all-cargo carriers now will be allowed to fly between the United and Mexico. Previously, only 10 cargo carriers -- five from Mexico and five from the
United States -- could operate scheduled service to the other country.
The Transportation Department also said the agreement enhances "code-sharing" opportunities for U.S. and Mexican airlines, "opening up new competitive
options for travelers between the United States and Mexico."
Code-sharing is a commercial pact between two airlines that allows an airline to put its two-letter identification code on the flights of another
airline in computerized reservations systems. This means, for example, that customers can fly on a US Airways flight from their hometown to a city
served by both US Airways and United Airlines, and then continue on a United Airlines aircraft to their final destination using the US Airways ticket
designator.
In a December 12 statement about the agreement, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio Garza said "both businesses and individual consumers win when
countries allow their air carriers to compete for passengers." The agreement, he said, "will allow new travel options and open the market to
travelers who had, in the past, never dreamed they could afford to buy an airline ticket."
The agreement also now treats Washington and the nearby city of Baltimore as two separate air markets, meaning that additional airlines can provide
service between the Washington/Baltimore area and Mexico.
The agreement was signed by U.S. Under Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Shane and Mexican Secretary of Communications and Transportation Pedro
Cerisola y Weber.
Huh??
tehag - 12-15-2005 at 11:17 AM
Aeromexico, Aerocalifornia, Alaska, and a Canadian charter airline are laready coming to Loreto. How does that stack up with an expansion of, "from
two to three airlines?"