A new agreement reached this week between the United States, the European Union, Norway, and Iceland will allow U.S. air carriers to rent out their planes and crews to other carriers, in a process known as wet leasing.
For many years, the United States has been restricted from doing this for EU carriers — which, in this case, also includes Norway and Iceland — despite EU carriers being able to provide these services to each other or U.S. carriers under existing U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. It is a major source of revenue for the carriers providing these aircraft and crews, and U.S. carriers have chafed under the imbalance.
The new agreement, signed on the U.S. side by DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs David Short, restores what the government calls fair terms for U.S. carriers. It removes the limitations imposed by European Community regulations and allows U.S. carriers to more broadly offer their craft and crews to markets throughout the world.