Canada, India liberalize bilateral air transport agreement

Canada, India liberalize bilateral air transport agreement    The governments of Canada and India have agreed to liberalize their current bilateral air transport agreement, allowing for a five-fold increase in flights between the two countries.
   “This new arrangement will allow airlines of Canada and India to better meet the needs of the traveling public, including the business community, and reflects a shared commitment to improved air services between the two countries,” said Jean-C. Lapierre, Canada’s transport minister.
   Highlights of the agreement include:
   * Weekly capacity for passenger services will increase approximately five-fold to 35 roundtrip flights per week for each country.
   * Each country can designate as many air carriers as it wishes for flights between Canada and India.
   * Canadian air carriers can access the cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, in addition to Mumbai and Delhi.
   * Indian carriers can access Edmonton, Vancouver, and two other cities to be named by India, in addition to Montreal and Toronto.
   * Airlines of both countries will be able to take advantage of new code-share provisions whereby an airline sells seats in its name on the flights of another airline.
   * Capacity for all-cargo services is unlimited.
   According to Transport for Canada the trade relationship between Canada and India has grown more than 60 percent over the past five years, valued at about C$2.45 billion ($1.97 billion).
   Both the Canadian and Indian negotiating delegations agreed to meet again in 2007, or sooner if necessary, to ensure that the air services agreement continues to meet the needs of the traveling public, Transport for Canada said in statement.