DOHA: The US Travel Association along with other airlines and several corporations have come out strongly in support of the Gulf carriers – Qatar Airways, Emirates and Ethihad.
They have send a letter to the Obama administration urging them to resist a call from American, Delta and United to make changes to the Open Skies treaties.
CEOs of Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Airways are among those who are opposing the stance of industry partners American, Delta and United who are leading the charge to change the agreements amid growing concern about the growth of Gulf carriers in the United States.
Those leaders joined the heads of 21 other major corporations and industry associations on a letter sent by the US Travel Association to Secretaries John Kerry, Penny Pritzker and Anthony Foxx, the chiefs of the three Cabinet agencies hearing an appeal by the Big 3 airlines to break Open Skies agreements with UAE and Qatar.
The US Big Three accuse Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways of receiving more than $40 billion in subsidies and distorting competition, which is strongly denied by the carriers.
US Travel Association said it has vehemently opposed changes to Open Skies on the grounds that such a move would "gravely harm airline competition, travellers and the overall US economy".
“I wake up every morning alarmed and sad that the Big Three have staked out this position on Open Skies,” said US Travel president and CEO Roger Dow.
“Even if I tried hard I couldn’t think of a policy change that would be as utterly terrible for the economy, jobs and consumers. We’d rather be working with airlines to enhance the flying experience for travelers and get more people booking trips, but instead we have to spend time and energy opposing them on this self-interested maneuver that just makes no sense at all.
“I’d like to thank my fellow CEOs for speaking out in favour of Open Skies in the face of an incredibly aggressive arm-twisting campaign by the Big Three.”
The Peninsula
