Open Skies: More Flights, Same Fares

American will shift flights from Dallas and Raleigh, N.C., to Heathrow from London's Gatwick Airport

Open skies may offer travelers more in the way of convenience than savings, but it is likely to help the airlines' bottom lines. Carriers say open skies' biggest benefit is giving them the freedom to quickly make changes to their flight schedules. Many airlines will also launch new code-sharing agreements which let them book passengers on one another's planes.

"Liberalization of the trans-Atlantic market allows us to pursue growth opportunities where and when they make commercial sense with less government interference," said United spokesman John Tague.

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AP Business Writers Emma Vandore in Paris, Jane Wardell in London, Harry Weber in Atlanta, Dave Carpenter in Chicago and Josh Freed in Minneapolis contributed to this report.