Partners in the Skyteam alliance will launch 11 new transatlantic daily flights from March 30, serving eight US destinations - Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, New York JFK, Newark, Detroit, Minneapolis and Seattle.

Under the Open Skies accord, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines of the United States will gain access to Heathrow, the first new American carriers there since 1991.

Previously, only British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and United Airlines were allowed to operate transatlantic flights from Heathrow but the April 2007 Open Skies deal opened up one of the single most important air travel markets in the world.

SkyTeam comprises 11 companies - Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, Continental Airlines, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines.

It flies in competition with the One World alliance of American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines (JAL), LAN of Chile, Malev of Hungary, Qantas and Royal Jordanian. -- AFP