US said to plan airline subsidy talks with UAE, Qatar

The US will hold informal talks with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over claims they wrongly subsidized three Persian Gulf airlines, stopping short of a request by US carriers for formal discussions on whether aviation treaties were violated, people familiar with the matter said. State Department officials met with the US airlines and their backers June 24 to discuss the decision and will meet with representatives of the Persian Gulf carriers Wednesday, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the meetings were private. Official sessions with the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are set for July, the people said. The decision caps more than a year of squabbling among the airlines that began when American Airlines, Delta and United Continental complained that Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have received more than $40b in government support, providing an unfair competitive advantage. The three Persian Gulf carriers repeatedly denied receiving government support. “What you’re seeing with this middle ground approach is they’re saying, ‘We’ll have informal talks and see how it goes,’ ” said Paul Mifsud, a former VP of government and legal affairs for the KLM unit of Air France-KLM Group. “This is a way to split the baby.”<br/>