The Friedman Files

The new “Open Skies” agreement between the U.S. and the European Union begins this weekend.  We’ll have special coverage on NBC5 Today at 8am Sunday and also on NBC5 News at 10.

The agreement loosens old restrictions on flights.  Now carriers will be able to fly non-stop between any two cities in the U.S. and Eurpoe.  The idea is to stimulate competition and make more routes and options available to travellers.

So what’s the effect in North Texas?  Will it really bring more international carriers to DFW airport?  Will it bring down fares so you can take that summer trip to London or Rome for less?  In the short term, I don’t think so. 

The immediate benefit travellers will see here is more flights to London Heathrow.  Anyone who’s travelled through Heathrow knows it offers many more connections to other European destinations (and about anyplace in the world) than Gatwick airport.  So, more Heathrow flights on AA and British Airways will make things much easier for people who want to fly from DFW to smaller European cities, and it may generate some more competition on those routes.

But what DFW really needs is more foreign carriers offering service.  If you want cheaper tickets you need companies like Air France, Virgina Atlantic, Alitalia, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Swiss, and SAS competiting for business.  Those carriers already serve other major cities like Chicago and Atlanta.  DFW airport built Terminal D (one of the finest in the world) hoping to attract more carriers — but its still working on building the list of airlines offering service.  The addition of KLM, which starts offering flights this weekend, is a great start.  Let’s hope there’s more to come.  A KLM executive told me this week he believes it will eventually happen.  His company sees a good future in its Dallas-Amsterdam route and he thinks others will someday see the same.

Now if we could just pump up the sagging U.S. Dollar — that would be a way to really save some money on that European vacation.