Open skies policy examined
Promising to dramatically open up the region’s airways, the planned Asean Single Aviation Market (ASAM) will bring with it fierce competition and price wars, experts said yesterday during a seminar on the subject at the Phnom Penh Hotel. The seminar brought representatives from the majority of the 10 Asean member states together to discuss ASAM – also referred to as the open skies policy – and learn from the experiences of the European Union’s integrated single aviation market that took effect in the mid-1990s. Under an umbrella treaty, an open skies agreement will, among other things, allow Asean airline operators to run a greater amount of flights, either directly or with a stopover, between all regional cities. The deadline for the agreement is December 31 next year, in line with the launch of the Asean Economic Community in 2015 (AEC). The AEC is supposed to bring member states together by facilitating a freer flow of skilled labour, goods and services; though few believe that 2015 is a realistic deadline. …
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/open-skies-policy-examined
