This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ IN AMERICA - NOMINATED FOR 6 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS IN AMERICA has audiences across the country moved by its emotional power. This Holiday season, share the experience of this extraordinary film with everyone you are thankful to have in your life. Ebert & Roeper give IN AMERICA "Two Thumbs Way Up!" Watch the trailer at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/inamerica \----------------------------------------------------------/ Europeans Reach Accord on Airspace December 11, 2003 By PAUL MELLER BRUSSELS, Dec. 10 - Representatives of the 15 European Union nations and the European Parliament have hammered out an agreement to create a single air-traffic space. The deal, struck late Tuesday night, is a big step toward replacing the existing patchwork of airspaces based on the 15 sovereign borders with a more practical series of cross-border blocks of airspace. This "single sky'' plan promises safer, cheaper and more punctual journeys, European officials said. "We have reached a milestone in European transport policy,'' said the European Union commissioner for transport and energy, Loyola de Palacio, after the agreement Tuesday night. Martin Borghetto, an aviation analyst with Morgan Stanley in London, said the agreement was "a first step in the right direction" to creating a single aviation market for the European Union. The plan will also pave the way for greater coordination between civil and military airspaces. Flights that are currently forced to go around cordoned-off military airspaces may, for example, be able to fly through such zones if they are not being used for military purposes, thus saving fuel and time. The main obstacle to an agreement had been the reluctance of national governments to give up sovereignty of the airspace above their countries. On Tuesday, negotiators agreed to allow the national governments a veto power over the new airspace blocks that touch their borders. The package of laws on airspace is not expected to take effect until the end of next year at the earliest. And it is subject to approval by the full European Parliament and a formal meeting of national government ministers. The European Commission started work on a single-sky proposal four years ago, but the European airline industry has been pushing for such an initiative since the late 1980's. British Airways, Europe's largest airline, welcomed the agreement. "It will free up airspace, reduce congestion and therefore lead to lower costs," said Steve Double of British Airways. The commission estimates that the agreement may result in savings of $1.6 billion to $2.3 billion through more efficient use of flights and jet fuel. "Beyond that, delays and excessively long flight paths followed by aircraft harm the environment,'' the commission said in a statement. "Fuel consumption and gas emissions could be cut by 5 percent." Industry analysts predict that air traffic over Europe will double by 2020. Reorganizing how flights are managed is essential for safety, the commission said. "Air-traffic control in Europe is among the safest in the world, but it is not organized equally rigorously in every state,'' the commission said. The commission says the new system will involve fewer, but larger and better-coordinated air-traffic control centers. Britain's controller, National Air Traffic Services, estimates that the effort will lead to reducing the number of air-traffic control centers to 12 to 20 from the current 65. Once adopted, the new laws governing airspace will apply across 25 countries when the European Union expands. A European Commission spokesman, Gilles Gantelet, said it was inevitable that countries like Switzerland and Norway, which will remain outside the union for the foreseeable future, will participate in the new regime. Both Switzerland and Norway participated in the discussions that led to the single-sky project, he said, but the new rules are not included in existing bilateral agreements between these countries and the European Union. "A single sky above 25 countries with a hole in the middle where Switzerland is situated is not likely to happen," he said. Mr. Borghetto, the aviation analyst with Morgan Stanley, noted that the move to unify control of the skies above Europe would not have any direct effect on the consolidation that is needed among European airlines, but would ultimately help reduce barriers to potential ownership of airlines. Toward that end of greater consolidation and cooperation, the European Commission on Wednesday approved a six-year alliance between British Airways and Spain's national airline, Iberia. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/11/business/worldbusiness/11sky.html?ex=1072176688&ei=1&en=7e6d22627fb9393a --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company