British Airways is hoping that if it concedes 50 slots at London/Heathrow it will be able to merge its transatlantic operations with American Airlines. Members of British Airways Executive Club currently cannot earn miles with American AAdvantage on transatlantic routes and vice versa. If this merger goes ahead, though it appears unlikely, that stipulation will disappear. Serious concerns have been raised by Continental, Delta and Northwest, as the United States has started to resume “open skies” discussions with the United Kingdom. None of the three airlines is currently authorized to serve London/Heathrow and, despite the fact that a new open skies agreement would allow all airlines to serve Heathrow, the carriers are concerned that they will not be able to acquire the arrival and departure slots and facilities necessary to compete.