Addendum
Blind faith or insider’s knowledge?
April 1st 2016
Is he being over-optimistic? Saif Mohammad Al Suwaidi, director general of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has declared the frequently bitter war of words between the major U.S. airlines and their Gulf rivals over alleged subsidies at the Middle East carriers should be resolved by the end of this year. Read More »
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“I am sure our operation is within the agreement that we have with the United States. We haven’t broken any article in that agreement,” he told media in Dubai. Despite his comments, there is no evidence of a breakthrough in the dispute. In 2015, the three major North American carriers, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, submitted a White Paper to the U.S. government that argued Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways had received $42 billion in subsidies from their governments.
The three Gulf airlines mounted fierce rebuttals of the claims. They insisted their businesses were run fairly and without government subsidies. In their counter attack, the Middle Eastern carriers said U.S. airlines have benefitted unfairly from sheltering behind Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection when they were in trouble. As for an agreement, 2016 could prove a difficult period to iron out matters given the political environment in the U.S. in this contentious election year.
