US senators accuse Gulf carriers of flying ‘nonviable’ US routes

Six US senators have written a letter to the US secretaries of state and transportation, encouraging them to take “firm action” against alleged large government subsidies to the Gulf majors that allow those airlines to fly routes to the US they say would not be viable absent government assistance. The senators―three Democrats and three Republicans―wrote that Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have saturated Gulf-US routes with overcapacity “facilitated by the subsidies” from the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, making flights on the routes “commercially nonviable for unsubsidized [US] carriers.” The senators are echoing the position of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines on the issue, and are part of a growing contingent of US lawmakers that want the Trump administration to take action. US Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, used strong rhetoric earlier this month to signal his support for the US majors’ position. The Gulf airlines are “flying planes empty,” he alleged at a House hearing, adding: “Is a state-owned airline in a monarchy―a dictatorship―fair competition for our capitalist, privately-owned carriers?” The senators’ letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed particular concern over Emirates’ Dubai-Athens-Newark route launched earlier in March with a Boeing 777-300ER. The daily service is operated under fifth-freedom rights that are permitted within the US-UAE Open Skies agreement, allowing revenue passengers to board the aircraft in Athens for the transatlantic leg. Emirates also operates a Dubai-Milan Malpensa-New York JFK fifth-freedom route.<br/>