02 November 2007 BA wants piece of the open skies action
British Airways' (BA's) desire to fly directly from continental European cities to the US following the open skies agreement is fuelled by it wanting a piece of the "action".
Peter Morris, chief economist at the aviation consultants Ascend, told BBC Radio Five Live's Wake Up to Money programme that a number of big airlines are taking advantage of the ability to fly direct to big locations and that BA wants to follow suit.
"With growth markets now, particular growth markets like the Middle East, China and India, there are opportunities from Europe that Air France [is] taking up, Lufthansa [is] taking up and BA would like a share of that action," Mr Morris told the programme.
The open skies agreement sees the end of individual policies between the US and each of the EU member states, with those agreements being replaced with one encompassing all member states.
Last month, the airline announced it was launching new short-haul routes from Gatwick airport, with flights to Poznan in Poland and Antalya in Turkey launching in March next year.
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