S. Korea, Canada reach open air transportation agreement

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Canada reached an "open sky" agreement that will help expand passenger and cargo flight services, the government said Thursday.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said the deal was signed
earlier in the day at bilateral aviation talks held in Vancouver, and could
effectively ease chronic seat shortages.
Routes linking South Korea to Canadian cities like Vancouver and Toronto have an
average boarding rate of 86.8 percent because the existing pact limits weekly
passenger flights to five -- seven round-trip passenger flights and two for
cargo. At present, only Korean Air operates flights to Canada.
"The new open sky pact will allow a greater number of flights," a government
official said. He added that passengers and freight will be able to use Canada as
a hub to reach the United States, Mexico and other parts of Latin America.
He said that since a formal deal must go through the countries' respective
foreign ministries, and that the pact should go into effect early next year.
The two sides also signed off on a "seventh freedom rights" arrangement giving
South Korean airlines permission to move cargo within Canada. This arrangement is
designed to minimize government intervention while giving maximum leeway to
carriers.
It is the first time that Seoul has signed such a pact with a foreign country.
The ministry said that the signing of the pact follows similar agreements with
the United States in 1998 and those signed with Mexico in June of this year.
Seoul wants to use the latest aviation pact to push for a "unified" air
transportation market with Japan and China and the liberty to schedule more
flights to the European Union.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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