Australia signs open a skies agreement with China

Chinese airlines will have unrestricted capacity into Australia after the federal government announced it had reached an agreement with China for an “open aviation market” between the two countries. The agreement, announced on Sunday, paves the way for China-based carriers to maintain the furious pace of growth into this country in recent times, catering for the increasing number of Chinese tourists travelling overseas. Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said opening up aviation capacity in the Australia-China air services agreement had been a top priority since he took up the portfolio. “These new arrangements will remove all capacity restrictions between Australia and China for each country’s airline which is an important enabler for increased trade and tourism,” Chester said. While the most obvious benefit will be for Chinese carriers, who are now free to continue their rapid expansion into this country, Chester noted the new agreement also contained some benefits for Australian flag carriers. “We have also liberalised traffic rights and code share arrangements, which are important for Australian airlines,” Chester said. “This will enable Australian and Chinese airlines to service destinations between and beyond both countries, and will allow them to take full advantage of their cooperative arrangements with their commercial alliance partners."<br/>