Dust off your passports; air travel to Europe just got easier. According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters, more affordable and convenient air travel for American consumers is on the horizon due to this week's signing of an open-skies air transport agreement between the United States and the European Union. The agreement will provide greater freedom for American and EU airlines to fly between the two continents by eliminating restrictions on prices and services. By expanding the ability of airlines to fly between Europe and the U.S., this agreement will spur lower-priced and more accessible air travel for American and European consumers, promote greater access to U.S. and European markets, and increase healthy competition. (Now if we could just do something about the exchange rate.)

The signing of the air transport agreement is the result of several years of intense negotiations. With the approval of the deal, every U.S. and EU airline will now be permitted to fly between every city in the European Union and every city in the United States. It will also allow these airlines to set fares freely in accordance with market demand, and operate without restrictions on the number of flights, the aircraft used, or the routes chosen. The agreement takes effect March 2008.