U.S., Mexico agree to expanded aviation services

U.S., Mexico agree to expanded aviation services    The United States and Mexico Wednesday agreed to expanded aviation services between the two countries. The previous bilateral aviation agreement dated back to 1999.
   Under the new agreement, three airlines from each country may fly between any U.S. city and any of 14 Mexican cities: Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel, Guadalajara, Huatulco, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Loreto, Manzanillo, Mazatalan, Merida, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo. Previously, only two airlines from each country could operate on each U.S.-Mexico city-pair market.
   The new terms will also allow any number of scheduled all-cargo carriers to fly between the countries, and three all-cargo carriers to fly in each U.S.-Mexico city-pair market. The previous agreement allowed only five scheduled all-cargo carriers from each country, and only one from each country could operate between any U.S.-Mexico city pair except in a very limited number of markets.
   The agreement also adds a new provision for U.S. and Mexican carriers to enter into code-sharing arrangements with carriers from third countries for their U.S.-Mexico services, and increases from four to 10 the number of U.S. and Mexican carrier codes that may be carried in each city pair.
   'We will continue to work with the Mexican government to liberalize our aviation agreement even further,' said Norman Y. Mineta, U.S. Transportation Secretary.
   The agreement is expected to be formally signed in the near future.