DoT: United States, Mexico Reach Modernized Aviation Agreement
21-Nov-2014 The U.S. Department of Transportation announced today that a new, modernized air service agreement has been reached that will expand opportunities for passenger and cargo carriers to provide service between the United States and Mexico, and strengthen the economic ties between the two countries. The new agreement with Mexico includes unlimited market access for U.S. and Mexican air carriers, improved intermodal rights, pricing flexibility, and other important commercial rights.
The new agreement will remove the numerical limitations on the number of airlines that may provide passengers service in all U.S.-Mexico city pairs. As a result, some city-pair markets might see the entrance of new carriers for the first time in many years, and airlines can consider offering new service in destinations that they could have never considered previously. Cargo airlines, for the first time, will have expanded opportunities to provide service to new destinations that were not available under the current agreement, and to offer services from the United States to Mexico and beyond Mexico to other countries.
"Travelers, shippers, airlines, and the economies of both countries will benefit from competitive pricing and more convenient air service," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "This agreement is the result of the commitment on both sides of the border to strengthen the strong bonds of trade and tourism between our two countries, and demonstrate our shared commitment to a competitive, market-based international economic system."
The agreement will expand opportunities for air services and will encourage price competition by airlines, while strengthening our commitments to aviation safety and security.
The agreement will not enter into force until January 1, 2016, after both parties have completed their necessary internal processes.