Freeing the sky

It's not as big a change as would be ideal, but it looks like airline passengers will soon have a few more options based on new Canada/U.S. negotiations:

Lapierre cited three likely reforms that would lower the cost of some international flights, including:

-Liberalized pricing rules that would allow foreign carriers to undercut domestic ones.

-Allowing passengers to travel from Canada to the United States and to a third country on a single flight.

This could mean a Toronto-Mexico City flight stopping to pick up passengers in Dallas, for example. Other possible routes include Boston-Vancouver-Beijing, or St. Louis-Montreal-Paris.

-Allowing cargo carriers to drop off packages in two cities across the border, instead of the one currently permitted.

The article notes that the issue of cabotage will be held off for now, which is unfortunate. From a consumer standpoint and an airline standpoint, one would think that added flexibility would be a plus. But the likely agreement is still both a step in the right direction, and a sign that disagreeing on some issues doesn't mean that Canada and the U.S. can't still work together in the interests of both countries.