Japan and the United States have agreed to an Open Skies agreement that will lift restrictions on routes between the two nations. Will this increase competition or will the big airline players continue to battle each other for an exclusive piece of the valuable U.S.-Asia market?

Delta Air Lines has already offered over US$1 billion to Japan Airlines (JAL) in a move designed to lure the carrier from the Oneworld alliance to SkyTeam, severely limiting American Airlines' access to markets beyond Japan. To keep its partnership with JAL, and its reach beyond Japan to other Asian markets, American is offering even more for the struggling Japanese carrier. According to a USA Today report, not only will American like to see JAL stay in Oneworld, but the airline is adding a promise not to compete with JAL for connecting passengers beyond Japan. The report states that the Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and Japan will deregulate air service between the countries and allow U.S. and Japanese carriers to seek antitrust immunity as they coordinate on international routes and pricing and share costs and revenue. The third major alliance, Star, is not sitting idly by. United Airlines, already with a larger presence in Asia than American Airlines, is looking to link up with All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Continental Airlines. Like most airline partnership agreements that aren't full blown mergers, this deal would require immunity from anti-trust regulations. The battle of airline alliances continues. What remains to be seen is what Japan Airlines will do. A great deal of money is being thrown its way but in the end, the airline will do what's best for its survival and its strong presence in markets throughout Asia.

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