general

The US and UK are close to finalising an open skies aviation agreement, which falls short of current EU arrangements but will protect British carriers from ownership problems after Brexit. Negotiators for the two sides are meeting Wednesday in Washington for what they expect to be the final round of talks on the wide-ranging air services agreement, according to people briefed on the talks. If confirmed, the deal would provide continuity for UK and US-based carriers when Britain leaves the EU-US open skies treaty after Brexit, which underpins the busy transatlantic flight corridor. But the draft terms are inferior to the rights the UK enjoys as an EU member, with tighter restrictions on ownership, tougher terms for new entrants and no special access to the Fly America program, which allocates tickets for US govt employees. <br/>

Airlines in the UK are facing a crackdown on an "exploitative" algorithm that split ups families on flights so they are forced to pay more to sit together. British Digital minister Margot James described the software as "a very cynical, exploitative means… to hoodwink the general public. Some airlines have set an algorithm to identify passengers of the same surname travelling together," she said to a parliamentary communications committee. They've had the temerity to split the passengers up, and when the family want to travel together they are charged more." Research published by the CAA in October found the likelihood of being split up varied between airlines – and found that it was most likely to happen on Ryanair, where 35% of those surveyed were separated after opting not to pay for allocated seating. <br/>