As promised, the DOT has announced the transition to an Open Skies aviation agreement with Colombia.
The basics: US airlines are currently allowed to fly 91 flights a week (= 13 flights a day) to Colombia’s largest cities. (Barranquilla is already Open Skies and thus doesn’t count against that limits.) Charlotte is US Airways main hub for flights to points in Central and South America. When the U.S.-Colombia air service agreement was last liberalized in 2007, US Airways applied for the authority to fly Charlotte – Bogota daily. It did not win any of the then available frequencies.
Under the new agreement, an additional 21 weekly frequencies (flights) are available immediately and another 21 weekly will be available as of January 1, 2012 for use in the following city pairs that already have service: Atlanta-Bogota, Ft. Lauderdale-Bogota, Ft. Lauderdale-Cali, Ft. Lauderdale-Medellin, Houston-Bogota, Los Angeles-Bogota, Miami-Bogota, Miami-Cali, Miami-Medellin, New York/Newark-Bogota, New York/Newark-Medellin, Orlando-Bogota, and Washington-Bogota. (The practical differences between an immediately and Jan. 1, 2012 start date given the lead times involved is whether airlines could begin service before or after Christmas.) All limits disappear in these markets as of January 1, 2013.
Restrictions are eliminated effective immediately for all other city pairs including Charlotte – Bogota.
So if US Airways wants to start flying to Bogota, as it indicated it did in 2007, it is now free to do so. Whether it decides to offer the route and can make it work if it does fly it is a huge test of the airline’s ability to expand into non-beach markets in Central and South America. If it works, that is very encouraging. And if US Airways chooses not to try, it’s an indication that its previous interest was exactly because flights to Colombia were limited by treaty and the prospect for CLT – South America flights beyond the current Rio de Janerio and the planned Sao Paulo flights are limited indeed.
Bonus observation: Avianca, Colombia’s leading airline, is joining the Star Alliance, in which US Airways is already a member. That could open up some interesting codeshare possibilities should US Airways offer Bogota service.
