As part of ALPA’s ongoing commitment to ensure that U.S. airlines are able to compete fairly in a global marketplace, ALPA joined in comments by the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies to highlight the clear evidence found in Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Emirates Airline own submissions to the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, and Transportation of the subsidies they receive from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar governments.
According to their submissions, these three airlines receive billions of dollars from the Qatar and United Arab Emirates’ governments, which enable them to compete against U.S. airlines and their workers. Whether in the form of equity infusions, interest-free loans, grants, airport fee exemptions, or new infrastructure, these massive subsidies help Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Emirates Airline purchase aircraft in numbers far beyond what is needed to serve current passenger demand.
The Partnership’s filing states that Etihad Airways’ submission confirms that it has received more than $17 billion in subsidies from the UAE government, Qatar Airways’ filing shows that it has received more than $16 billion in subsidies from the Qatar government, and Emirates Airline’s response indicates it has received at least $5 billion in subsidies from the UAE government. These subsidies are siphoning off traffic from our U.S. airlines. Every international flight lost to these three carriers costs more than 260 airline jobs, including over 60 flight crew jobs on connecting flights.
Make no mistake, ALPA fully supports all but two of the United States’ existing Open Skies agreements. However, Qatar and the UAE have abused the policy by providing billions in subsidies to their state-owned airlines. As a result, the international marketplace is distorted, and U.S. airlines are deprived of a fair and equal opportunity to compete.
As I’ve said before, a deal is a deal. If Qatar and the UAE benefit from Open Skies agreements with the United States, they must also abide by them. That means doing business with U.S. airlines in a fair marketplace. The U.S. government must ask for the consultations available under the Open Skies agreements that both the UAE and Qatar signed, in order to find out the full extent of these subsidies.