US Travel Association appeals to Trump not to dump Open Skies
Thursday, 13 Feb, 2017
0
The US Travel Association has urged the Trump Administration to support the Open Skies air treaty for the sake of American jobs.
"By reducing government interference in air travel, the agreements have led to hundreds of thousands of new American travel and manufacturing jobs, billions in US economic growth, lower airfares for travelers, more flights to airports to and beyond major gateways, and new opportunities for US airlines," US Travel president and CEO Roger Dow said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Dow’s letter was penned as US airline executives met with the President with an agenda to curb the competition of gulf carriers Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar Airways.
American, Delta, and United have always maintained Gulf carriers receive ‘unfair’ state subsidies.
They ‘operate without concern for turning a profit, unlike US airlines, and therefore focus entirely on stripping market share and driving out competition,’ the big three said in their own letter to Tillerson last week.
Dow says US airlines’ insistence that they want to project American jobs is a smokescreen.
"While their arguments are couched in compelling terms, the big three airlines are not seeking a level playing field to compete. Instead, they are lobbying for government intrusion that would benefit themselves, but hurt American manufacturing jobs, threaten US economic growth and undermine US national security interests.
Other airlines like JetBlue are firmly in favor of Open Skies agreements as it will greatly benefit the airline should it decide to one day launch transatlantic flights.
TravelMole Editorial Team
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.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt