(BRUSSELS) - Air passengers flying between Europe and the United States should get more choice and cheaper tickets if all goes as officials plan under a new EU-US aviation pact taking effect on Sunday.

After more than four years of often tense negotiations, hopes are high that the new so-called "open skies" agreement will usher in a new era of transatlantic travel thanks to the tougher competition.

The EU estimates that the accord could provide a major boost to transatlantic air traffic with more than 26 million extra passengers expected over the next five years.

Meanwhile, the deal is estimated to create benefits worth 12 billion euros (19 billion dollars) for consumers and create 80,000 new jobs in the European Union and the United States combined.

The pact is supposed to meet those high ambitions by replacing the patchwork of 21 bilateral aviation accords that so far existed between Washington and individual nations with a single EU-US accord.

Previously, six EU countries without such bilateral accords could not have direct flights to the United States.

Additionally, the open skies agreement will lift many of the restrictions that currently exist under those bilateral accords, which currently hold back more competition in transatlantic air travel.

Specifically, under the new accord any EU carrier can fly from anywhere in the bloc to any point in the United States, and then on to a third country, and vice versa.

However, EU airlines will still not be able to operate domestic US routes, and nor will American carriers be allowed to fly between cities in the same European country.

The pact will also lift restrictions on which airlines can fly from which airport, having an important impact on lucrative transatlantic routes from London's busy Heathrow airport.

Under Britain's current bilateral aviation accord with the United States, only British Airways and Virgin Atlantic of Britain and US carriers United Airlines and American Airlines can fly routes from Heathrow to the United States.

The new deal will also lift restrictions on EU carriers buying stakes of more than 50 percent in US airlines, although their voting rights in a US company will remain capped at 25 percent.

US airlines will be able to hold voting rights of up to 49 percent in a European carrier, although that could come back down to 25 percent if there is no progress in negotiations on further liberalisation.

Those talks are due to get underway in mid-May in Slovenia, setting the stage for another round of long and tough bargaining.

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