The Open Skies deal was, in the end, approved without much opposition, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Already airlines have moved to say what they intend to do. Bmi, a leading supporter of the deal and the happy owner of 15% of the slots at London Heathrow, looks a clear winner.
Its ceo Nigel Turner has already said he will scrap some of his short haul routes and replace them with transatlantic services out of Heathrow.
BA, which has 40% of the Heathrow slots and is by far the airport's dominant carrier, is seen by many as the main loser. But the carrier does not see it that way at all and has also already announced plans to increase US destinations from Heathrow by switching services to Houston, Dallas and Austin from Gatwick.
Virgin which also had reservations about the deal, has announced it will launch US routes from Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid within two years.
Continental Airways has also announced, with a touch of boldness, that it also plans to run services from Houston to Heathrow next March when the deal comes into force.
But the real affect of the deal, which partially liberates transatlantic skies, will be what will be in place once the dust has settled - and that is far from clear.
Darryl Jenkins, director of the Aviation Institute of Ohio State University, described the deal as “Open Skies Lite” which pays due acknowledgement to the fact that it only goes so far.
It is not going to change the face of transatlantic aviation.
There will be extra choice at Heathrow besides the current four incumbents, BA, Virgin Atlantic, American and United. Bmi will certainly be among them as they have the slots and the intentions.
Other European airlines like Lufthansa and Air France/KLM might join them.
They have slots at Heathrow but will they be prepared to convert these into transatlantic routes?
Air France/KLM said it plans to offer new transatlantic services but has not given details.
When BTE asked Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chairman and ceo of Lufthansa, if he would start transatlantic routes out of Heathrow he said “No” but then quickly added: “I would not tell you if I were.”
In other words they are keeping their options open.
If nothing else Lufthansa must be feeling happier about it stake in bmi and on its option to buy it.
Continental is keen to start such routes but its president Jeffery Smisek gave no indication as to where his slots would come from.
Delta is in a similar position – willing but not necessarily able.
Phillip Baggaley, managing director of the US consultants Standard and Poors, suggested that Air France/KLM, a SkyTeam alliance partner of these two carriers, might be ready to trade or sell its slots. Its early days but there is no evidence of that.
Even the question of the expected fare cuts on transatlantic routes has come into question (see BTE News Story: “Open skies may not lead to fares cut”). Experts believe that fares are already competitive and that with an increase in traffic, there will be no rush to cut them.
Bmi has based much of its support for Open Skies on the high fares that the four incumbents charge so it would be surprising - to put it mildly - if it did not come in with lower fares.
Whether the deal will actually increase traffic - as distinct from concentrating more of it at Heathrow - is a moot point. A jostling for position as newcomers open their routes might well lead to an initial fall in fares but, again, whether this will be sustained is open to guesswork.
A deal such as Open Skies is also likely to boost further speculation on the consolidation of the European aviation industry.
One UK newspaper has reported that BA is ready to make a £1bn bid for bmi and its slots. If that were successful, BA would own 55% of the airport's slots which sees unlikely to be permitted. Lufthansa looks a more likely bidder here.
Small and medium-sized loss making European national carriers with slots at Heathrow might well find themselves more attractive to larger, predatory airlines.
Mr Baggaley thinks that if BA does suffer from the deal, there is good reason to believe it might “barge in” on one or two smaller carriers, like its oneworld alliance partners Finnair or Malev.
Lufthansa might cast covetous eyes on Austrian Airlines or Air France/KLM on CSA.
On the bigger picture, the deal might open the way for the long sought closer ties between BA and American or BA might finally get serious about working more closely with Iberia.
What does seem clear is that Heathrow will become even more an airport for long haul business.
This means bigger planes and more passengers.
The airport is already among the most congested and chaotic in the world. This, even with the opening of the much needed Terminal
Five next year, is likely to increase as Open Skies has its effect.
As research clearly shows, travel creates stress and the stress levels at Heathrow are likely to rise as more passengers use the airport. This may be the downside of the deal.