A Real Open Skies regime

"Open Skies" is a type of agreement permitting nearly every airline in one country to fly to nearly every airport in another. You might ask, "Wait. Wasn't that happening anyway?" Far from it. One of the most tightly locked-up markets for air travel is "fortress" Europe, with the U.K. being the tightest of them all - permitting just 2 U.S. carriers into Heathrow and only for limited flights. But, come of the end of this month, that will all change as the U.S. and the EU (not just the Brits) execute an open skies agreement. Mind, these aren't new - but this is arguably the most important one to date. What it will likely mean:

1. Direct flights to the EU from more U.S. cities.
2. Same in the opposite direction.
3. Quicker flights to European destinations that require a connection. With open skies, you can enter a country through any international airport, not just those previously designated as entry-points from the U.S. This means a deeper initial direct flight and a reduced-time short hop.
4. Greater U.S. presence by EU-based airlines. This has a diminished effect given all of the code-sharing to date.
5. Hopefully, some improvement in quality (if not price) due to competition.=