When the “Open Skies” treaty was signed between the United States and the European Union, the most immediate change was that airlines from both sides of the pond could fly internationally into many more airports. A French airline could fly from London to Los Angeles. A British airline could fly from New York to Amsterdam. And a number of American airlines could fly into London-Heathrow, which had previously been tightly limited to a small oligopoly.

But the treaty wasn’t supposed to end with a few new routes across the Atlantic. European airlines in particular are hoping to move into the North American market in a way they’ve never been allowed to before.

The Europeans are prepared to lobby vigorously for the part of Open Skies they see as far more crucial: relaxed ownership rules. In 2010, a year that will likely inflict further financial stress on a global airline industry struggling under recession, expect a new push to soften the 25% cap the U.S. imposes on foreign investment in airlines. It’s no secret to anyone that among the developed world’s airlines, U.S. carriers are the unfortunate, pitied cousins, their service and finances both in shocking disrepair. Most U.S. airline executives would welcome a strong financial partner, or the ability to sell out to one of them. And Europeans want greater access to fly domestic U.S. routes and to acquire airlines here.

But those who are salivating at the prospect of an Air France or Lufthansa flying into Toledo or Raleigh, wipe the spittle off your chin and stop dreaming. It’s not happening. Especially with this guy in a position of power:

In the U.S., Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, reaffirmed his support for tightening foreign-ownership restrictions by inserting protectionist language in legislation to reauthorize FAA funding.
[...]
Labor has also cultivated a warm relationship with Oberstar and has voiced support for his tougher language on control.

Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said, “ALPA strongly backs language in the bill affirming that U.S. citizens must control key operational aspects of U.S. airlines. This bill does that by identifying fleet composition, route selection, pricing and labor relations as among the operational elements that the Department of Transportation must ensure U.S. citizens control.”

Oberstar’s language would require U.S. citizens to “control all matters pertaining to the business and structure of the air carrier, including operational matters such as marketing, branding, fleet composition, route selection, pricing and labor relations.”

I understand that the airline industry is critical for the movement of goods and services in the country. And as such, the government takes a special interest in its ownership. But the 25% limit on ownership is overly restrictive, and actually hurts American airlines’ access to global capital.

Oberstar’s efforts to add conditions to expanded ownership will make US airlines less attractive to foreign investors. That’s intentional. And it’s dumb. Short-term it “protects” the companies from control by outsiders, but long-term it makes these American companies — already a laughing stock in the global marketplace — increasingly irrelevant.

Frankly, I don’t think most passengers care much, one way or the other, who owns the airline they’re flying. JetBlue is 19% owned by Lufthansa; does that make you more or less likely to fly them? How about Virgin America, whose nationality is perpetually being challenged, with its high-quality inflight product?

So, as much as I’d enjoy the prospect of a high-quality international carrier coming in and serving domestic cities, it’s not going to happen. And it looks increasingly unlikely that American carriers will get to partner with stronger international partners. And that, in particular, is a shame.

A couple weeks ago, Rick Seaney wrote about bargain rates for holiday travel to Europe in business class. Slower seasonal demand for business class seats, plus the financial crisis and recession, have left a number of seats open, especially between business centers in the US and Europe.

Many of those seats are still available. Economy class fares are creeping up for those folks who waited until the last minute to book their tickets, but business class (and premium economy) are still comparatively low.

If you’re doing a search for fares, run a separate search for business class fares. The economy search that is the default on most booking sites won’t necessarily capture business or first class fares, even if they’re lower than coach.

The best deal I’ve seen for last-minute 2008 holiday travel has to be on L’Avion, the all-business class carrier flying between Newark and Paris. $1479 plus taxes ($1,581.79 all-in) pays for the round-trip. The coach fare on Air France is $1623 for the same holiday dates. L’Avion isn’t the top-of-the-line business class seat — it’s a cradle, not a flat bed — but it’s $50 less than the cramped coach seat. No contest. (Plus, you can earn miles in British Airways’ Executive Club, as of December 2, 2008.)

Some of those flights may be operated by OpenSkies, the British Airways subsidiary that sells premium-economy (cradle) and business class (flat-bed) seats. A L’Avion seat in business is considered equivalent to an Open Skies Prem+. Check both sites, but I found the fares lower on the L’Avion side — even for the OpenSkies operated flights.

Related:
- Booking flights on L’Avion just got less risky
- Inside L’Avion, part un: a good seat but a shortage of fluids and information
- Inside L’Avion, part deux: the airline that is betwixt and between
- L’Avion (aff)

Upgraded: Dirty hotels
I’ve stayed in filthy hotels. One “hotelier,” and I use the term loosely, asked me and the (then-future) missus upon check-in, “You gonna need it the whole night?” You knew it would a good night’s rest. It built character. So, yes, I prefer my hotels clean, but if I’m going to stay at a roach motel, it might as well be for my long term health, right? Right?

Upgraded: Great reviews of awful hotels
Speaking of lousy hotels… how about this gem in Huntsville, Arkansas? Your room may have security cameras trained on your bed. Fantastic! (Thanks, Kim!)

Downgraded: Honesty, and eventually, safety
American and Delta are pulling out of a voluntary pilot-error reporting program with the FAA. The program was designed to allow pilots to admit to mistakes without fear of punishment, in order to improve how the air traffic control system functions. Guess what: The pilots say they’re being penalized by the airlines anyway, so they’re refusing to report errors. Which harms the system in the long run. Less data means the FAA will have a less accurate sense of the problems — however minor — which plague air travel. Management-labor relations, doing damage once again.

Downgraded: Advantage Rent-a-Car
Upgraded: My mood
Advantage Rent-a-Car, my least favorite car rental company in the United States of America, filed Chapter 11, with plans to close nearly 70% of their locations. Good riddance. My experiences with them were uniformly unpleasant, and downright insulting. I’m sure there were good people who work(ed) for the firm, and for those people, I’m sorry. I’m also sorry that I never actually met any of those people at an Advantage Rent-a-Car counter.

Upgraded: EU and Canada strike open-skies deals
The EU and Canada have liberalized the possibilities for air traffic between one another. “Under the deal, which is expected to come into force in the first half of 2009, airlines based in the 27-nation bloc will be able to operate direct flights to Canada from anywhere in Europe.” More competition for routes across the Atlantic should ensue.

Upgraded: Hartford
Northwest canceled the Hartford-Amsterdam flight, but post-merger Delta resumes it. Service is on a 757. Let’s see if they can make it work.

Upgraded: Algae fuel!
Yes, it’s just in the experimental phase, but Boeing is testing jet fuel derived from algae.

Upgraded: Your Merrill Lynch stock
Elite Island Resorts, with several properties in the Caribbean, are accepting stock as payment for your holiday stays. Better yet, they’re valuing the stock at July 1, 2008 levels. Merrill Lynch stock is down nearly 60% from that level. So, a 60% discount off the room rate! And at these levels, it might even be a good long-term investment for the resort. (via NYT)

Downgraded: Delta’s SkyMiles
It’s not coming as a surprise, but Delta has added a third tier to its frequent flyer program. I have expected this since last year, when Delta eliminated the “last seat availability” clause and added restrictions to its “SkyChoice” tier of frequent flyer tickets. (Previously, if you were willing to pay about double the miles, and if a seat were still for sale on your desired flight, you’d be guaranteed the opportunity to buy it. Much like full-fare tickets.) Now you have to pay TRIPLE the miles for the “last seat availability.” Bad enough. But there’s insult added to this injury. We know that miles are being devalued, and we understand that airlines are trying to make a buck (by screwing their most loyal customers, ahem), but it’s disingenuous when the airline says it’s giving travelers “more choice” or “flexibility,” when in reality that flexibility was taken away and then replaced at higher prices. I’m in complete agreement with Jared Blank on this one: Delta is pissing on us and telling us it’s raining.

Bonus: Since you’re going to need more miles, why not get some for very little effort, and have a story to tell your friends over a beer? Via Gary Leff, get 20,000 Delta miles by getting a free hair loss restoration consultation. Even if you’re a hirsute Adonis with a flowing mane (or, for the sake of equality, it seems, even if you’ve got the Crystal Gayle look), you’re eligible.

Downgraded: Standby on Frontier
Frontier has eliminated the complimentary standby policy and has moved to a Southwest-style model. You can still get on an earlier flight, but you’ll have to pay the difference between the ticket you’re holding and the walkup fare for the desired flight. If you’re on a full-fare ticket, then rock on. But walkups are most likely far more than what you’re holding. (Hat tip to Dan Webb.)

Bonus: A decent summary of most major US airlines’ standby policies, as of July 3, is here. (via FlightWisdom)

Upgraded: OpenSkies dumps economy, plans flights to Amsterdam
OpenSkies to fly JFK-AMS
British Airways’ new subsidiary OpenSkies just announced a new route from New York to Amsterdam, adding to their New York-Paris flights. At the same time, after only flying for a few weeks now, they’re giving up on their economy cabin, making the Boeing 757s a split between premium economy (using a version of the old BA biz class seats) and true lie-flat business class.

Downgraded: Le génie de Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis carried a gun in his carry-on luggage at Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport. Some confusion arose over whether the gun was a prop or not. Either way, stupid.

Upgraded: Google Maps adds walking directions
I just stumbled across this, in looking for directions within Boston: Google Maps now features walking directions, and not just driving directions. Of course, this only makes sense if you’re in a walkable city, and it’s not rolled out everywhere yet, but it’s a good start.

Downgraded: United
United is taking its pilots to court, accusing them of sick-outs and work slowdowns. I’m in no position to judge the validity of the charges, but this sort of acrimony isn’t exactly the kind of thing a person making travel plans wants to see. Flying is undependable enough, especially in summer, and no one needs another layer of uncertainty. If you had the choice between United and any other airline, and you saw that the pilots and management were swiping at each other, with “work stoppage” and “sick-out” being tossed around, how comfortable would you be booking with United?

(image)

British Airways is buying the last surviving standalone all-business class airline to cross the Atlantic. L’Avion, which flies from Newark to Paris-Orly, is being bought by BA and incorporated into their OpenSkies subisidiary.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise to me, since L’Avion and OpenSkies just started codesharing a few weeks ago. I would have expected that relationship to progress for at least few quarters before moving to full-on merger. But here we are.

The deal comes with a £54M pricetag, but about half of that covers the cash L’Avion has on hand.

British Airways plans to merge L’Avion into its new OpenSkies subsidiary, but that can only be a good thing, if recent reviews hold up.

But most importantly, the fact that L’Avion now has a major backer (with a meaningful frequent flyer program connected to a major alliance, I might add), it takes an element of risk off the table for those afraid to take the plunge with a standalone carrier. Especially after the spectacular failures of Maxjet, Eos, and Silverjet, it’s good to know that L’Avion tickets are highly likely to be backed by alternative itineraries, should a flight be cancelled or a route eliminated.

And, as we’ve seen, L’Avion’s service is a decent product in its own right. Flights in business class for $1499? Book away.

Related:
- Survival strategies of the all-business class airlines
- Inside L’Avion, part un: a good seat but a shortage of fluids and information
- Inside L’Avion, part deux: the airline that is betwixt and between
- L’Avion customer service: Meet your pilot and purser!

Eos and Maxjet have kicked the proverbial bucket, but the all-business carrier concept isn’t quite dead yet. Silverjet found new life by getting a cash infusion, a promise of more cash, and possibly even a bidding war/buyout offer. Huzzah for them!

But the other remaining trans-Atlantic airline, L’Avion, has figured that it can survive by partnering with others. And it’s linking up with another new airline — the British Airlines subsidiary OpenSkies, which launches flights from Paris (Orly) to New York (JFK) on June 19.

L’Avion will codeshare the OpenSkies flight, but not the other way around, at least for now. L’Avion flies all-business class from Newark to Paris, while OpenSkies flies a plane with business, premium economy, and economy from JFK to Paris. L’Avion’s seats are all forward-facing cradle seats (not lie-flat) while OpenSkies has alternating front-and-rear facing 180-degree lie flat business seats.

For L’Avion’s survival, getting a codeshare with a British Airways subsidiary seems like a smart move. I’m still not sure how they can afford to sell tickets for under $1500 round trip in business class and survive long-term, but the new codeshare may have thrown them a lifeline for the short term.