Or when Virgin Atlantic set a new standard in air travel, offering manicures, massages and limo rides to the airport for first-class passengers and giving economy travelers seat-back entertainment systems with a choice of movies and videogames.
Hitchens wrote for numerous publications including The Times Literary Supplement, the Daily Express, the London Evening Standard, Newsday and The Atlantic.
But officials on both sides of the Atlantic say they hope a pact could provide a template for standard-setting, regulation and economic relationships for the rest of the world.