Hong Kong has clinched a landmark air services agreement with the United States after three years of tense negotiations, completing a deal that will help cement Chek Lap Kok's position as the most important aviation hub in Asia after Tokyo's Narita airport.
Government and airline negotiators from both sides continued their discussions through Friday night, finally signing off on the agreement at 6.15am yesterday.
The agreement was welcomed by both sides. It gives both US and Hong Kong airlines unlimited rights to fly across the Pacific to and from Chek Lap Kok, as well as greatly expanded fifth-freedom opportunities - rights that allow US passenger and cargo carriers to serve other Asian destinations from Hong Kong.
But some Hong Kong sources close to the talks said they feared too many concessions had been granted to secure the agreement.
The deal also finally seals a code-sharing partnership between Cathay Pacific Airways and American Airlines, the world's largest carrier, first proposed nearly six years ago. This partnership will allow the two airlines to market each others' services in Asia and the US as their own.
United Airlines international affairs director Sandra Chiu said the deal 'had been a long time coming' and had only been possible because 'both sides worked hard to find a compromise'.
