US-EU Open Skies Agreement (2007-2008)
The U.S. and European Union signed an Open Skies deal that let any U.S. or EU airline fly between any city pair across the Atlantic, ending restrictions that limited which carriers could serve Heathrow.
A wave of new transatlantic routes launched within a year, expanding competition on U.S.-Europe travel.
Route competition intensified, and carriers like Delta built fortress hubs with deep transatlantic networks.
The Open Skies framework is why Delta can freely add Boston-Venice today without government route approvals, making network expansion a purely commercial decision.
