U.S. Carriers Once Again Carrying on About Emirates Competition

U.S. Carriers Once Again Carrying on About Emirates Competition

Well, U.S. Carriers are at it again, the very thought that there is an airline that can access U.S. Consumers that has a better product and better service, truly frightens the U.S. Carriers in their race to the bottom.  This time, they are claiming that the Emirates route from Dubai to Athens to New York violates U.S. Aviation agreement.

The group, Partnership for Fair and Open skies, intends to take up the matter with the new president, Donald Trump.  The group’s name in itself is quite comical, given that their “open” skies they demand is for the skies to be filled with only the flights of the airlines they represent.

According to Reuters,

 The world’s largest long-haul airline said it would start daily flights to New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport via Athens on March 12.

Emirates was “flagrantly violating” the air services agreement that allows it to fly to the United States, said the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, which represents Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and other U.S. airlines.

Accusing Emirates of “throwing down the gauntlet,” the group said it would discuss the matter with the new administration of President Donald Trump to “protect American jobs.”

The Dubai-Athens-Newark route would be Emirates’ second so-called ‘fifth freedom’ flight to the United States in addition to an existing daily Dubai-Milan-New York service. It also operates three daily direct Dubai-New York flights.

It’s important to be completely open and honest about what these airlines actually want.  They want Middle East carriers out of the country, taking the ability of passengers to actually have a choice.  To me, fair and open skies relates to the ability of passengers to travel as easy and as affordable as the market allows.  Additionally, the U.S. Carriers love to whine about the subsidies Middle East airlines get, but always seem to fail to mention the subsidies they receive or the taxes they don’t pay because how the tax code is written.  They get their fair share of subsidies.

This argument comes down to whether or not we want to increase competition for U.S. Carriers and offer American consumers more choice, or continue the U.S. Carrier race to the bottom that has been the hallmark of large mergers and decreased competition.  I, for one, prefer looking out for the consumer.