New US airline alliance to support Open Skies status quo
The Open Skies squabble between US and Gulf carriers has taken another twist with the formation of a new alliance opposing the stance taken by American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta.
The U.S. Airlines for Open Skies has been established by JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines and cargo carriers FedEx Express and Atlas Air Worldwide.
The group says abolishing Open Skies air treaties would harm the US economy and would likely cause retaliatory action from governments in the Middle East.
The three big U.S carriers have urged the US government to take action against Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways over claims they receive unfair state handouts of up to $40 billion.
The three Gulf airlines have all denied this and hit back with their own counter claims that US airlines effectively benefitted from subsidies through bankruptcy protection and tax breaks.
FedEx, Atlas, JetBlue and Hawaiian have sent a joint letter outlined their fears that the US economy will be damaged and jobs lost if the Open Skies agreement is pushed back.
"The Big three do not speak for all, or even most US airlines," Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerley said.
"Our coalition believes that the United States should honor its Open Skies commitments, which opens markets for US carriers, promotes competition on international and domestic routes, and facilitates U.S. exports."
"Open Skies has opened the door to tremendous new opportunities for U.S. airlines including JetBlue – competition that benefits consumers and the economy – and we must oppose calls to roll back that progress and risk reverting to the old days of heavy government regulation of our industry," added JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes.
The new alliance was described as ‘a meaningless coalition without a cause’ by spokeswoman Jill Zuckman of the big three coalition, known as the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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