The Office of International Aviation and the U.S. Department of State negotiate bilateral and multilateral air transport agreements with U.S. foreign air partners. Such agreements provide the basis for airlines in the countries concerned to provide international air services to passengers, freight and mail. Through air agreements, the United States is developing a competitive operating environment for U.S. airlines between the U.S. and abroad. For information on certain flight contracts, please contact us. ICAO`s Fourth World Aviation Forum (IWAF 2018) will be held from 17 to 19 September 2018 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
The forum is aimed at senior government officials, those responsible for aviation, transport and infrastructure, finance, the economy and tourism, as well as key industrial and financial partners. Under the slogan “Promoting Investment for Aviation Development,” the event aims to create a supportive environment to discuss approaches to maximizing the benefits of aviation and explore ways to mobilize long-term financial resources for aviation development, particularly for the development and modernization of quality aviation infrastructure. The forum also aims to integrate aviation sector priorities into the global, regional and national agenda of support for ICAO`s No Country Left Behind (NCLB) initiative and ultimately contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 agenda. Most air services are excluded from U.S. trade agreements. When air services are included, the scope is very limited. In these cases, the Office of International Aviation cooperates with the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the State Department to ensure that these provisions are consistent with U.S. aviation policy. In the General Service Tariff Agreement (GATS), the Air Services Annex explicitly limits air service coverage to aircraft repair and maintenance operations, computerized reservation systems, and the sale and marketing of air transport. Under our bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), air service coverage is limited to aircraft repair and maintenance services and specialized air services. For more information, please contact us. A remarkable trend is the conclusion of bilateral open air services agreements, which provide unrestricted access to third-party, fourth- and fifth-freedom traffic rights, designation, capacity, spectrum, code-sharing and fares.
The first such agreement was concluded in 1992 between the Netherlands and the United States.