A new era has dawned: welcome to the age of open skies. What does this much-trumpeted transatlantic air agreement mean for travellers? Not that much, it seems.

Open skies has long been a dream of airlines. Until this week, only four airlines have been able to operate from London’s Heathrow airport to US destinations. From today any EU or US-based airline can do just that - provided it’s got a landing slot, that is. Indeed, these airlines can operate a route from between any two airports in the EU or US. The idea is simple: open skies means more choice and more competition.

So far, so nice for travellers who aren’t very well served by existing routes. Air France has launched a London to Los Angeles service, while Northwest and Continental are serving more US destinations direct from the UK. Travellers between London and New York will benefit from 7000 extra seats a week.

You’d think all this would mean cheaper flights, but it seems that this is unlikely. Economy fares have come down a lot over the past few years, and fuel prices look set to keep costs steady. All these airlines are going after the lucrative business market, and fares here could well come down. There’s still a long way to go before these fares get within splurge range of most of us.

In summary: open skies means more routes, more seats but not cheaper flights. In the absence of the latter, an open-jawed yawn is likely to be most travellers’ reaction.