Business in brief: EU OKs aviation deal with U.S.
The European Union approved an aviation deal with the United States on Thursday that opens up restricted trans-Atlantic routes to new rivals, but bowed to British concerns in delaying when the agreement takes effect.
The “Open Skies” deal will allow airlines to fly from anywhere in the EU to any point in the United States, shedding limitations that also discourage them from charging what they like or combining with other carriers.
The EU said its 27 nations had unanimously voted for the deal, which will take effect at the end of March 2008. European negotiators will now have to secure U.S. agreement to delay the pact, originally scheduled to begin Oct. 28, and want to push on with new talks to eliminate remaining barriers on airline ownership.
Britain won its demand for extra time before opening up London Heathrow, the EU’s busiest airport, to more carriers.
Only four airlines – British Airways PLC, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and UAL Corp.’s United Airlines – currently have the right to fly from Heathrow to the United States, a lucrative route that represents around a third of all EU flights to the United States.
Washington
FCC to study Web providers
The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it will study the business practices of high-speed Internet providers and consider adopting regulations to ensure all Web traffic is treated equally.
The study will focus on how Internet service providers are managing traffic on their networks and whether they are charging different prices for different speeds or levels of service, the commission said.
The FCC adopted four principles on Internet policy in 2005, and the study will consider whether a principle of nondiscrimination in Internet traffic should be added.
Consumer advocates and other supporters of net neutrality have pushed for the FCC to adopt such rules.
Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, supported the launch of the study but characterized it as a “tiny, timid step.”
Instead, he said, “I want an FCC that unconditionally states its preference for nondiscrimination on the Internet.”
Funds disclose airline trades
A group of hedge funds urging Northwest Airlines Corp. to consider a merger has publicly disclosed their trading activity in the airline’s stock and debt, a week after appealing a bankruptcy court ruling requiring them to do so.
In documents filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, eight investment firms and one individual disclosed how much stock and debt they’ve purchased in Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest, when and for what price.
The disclosure comes after the funds balked at providing the information, saying it would have a “chilling effect” on the activities of hedge funds in bankruptcy cases.
Northwest has been in bankruptcy reorganization since September 2005.