UAE- Is US open skies debate clearing up?
Date
9/27/2015 10:27:22 PM
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)Boeing believes that the US government is unlikely to restrict Gulf carriers from expanding in the American market despite vehement opposition from American Airlines United Airlines and Delta Air Lines according to a senior Boeing executive.
In March the three US carriers - the country's largest - released a 55-page document accusing Emirates Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways of receiving $42 billion in government subsidies and unfair benefits which they say is a violation of the US Open Skies agreement. All three Gulf carriers reject the claims. The US carriers' accusations of unfair subsidies are beginning to collapse Marty Bentrott Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice-president of sales for the Middle East Russia and Central Asia told a group of journalists during a recent visit to a Boeing facility in Renton Washington. "It [the debate] seems to be drifting... the US carriers have filed [their claims] the Gulf carriers have filed their counterclaims and it's in this process" he said. "At the same time the US government realises how important the Middle East is to us as an ally." "I don't see anybody in the administration wanting to take this on" he added although he noted the possibility that the debate might be brought up as an electoral issue. Bentrott said he believed that American public opinion on the issue is shifting given the current profitability of US airlines and public grumbling about high baggage fees. The International Air Transport Association predicts US airlines will end 2015 with a combined net profit of $13.2 billion up from $11.9 billion in 2014. "I think the US carriers found themselves in a little bit of a quandary" Bentrott said. "They're at the highest profitability levels - some [at] record profits. There have been some accusations centred around collusion in terms of pricing. They're under attack by the US government with regards to baggage fees." According to the US Department of Transportation the nation's airlines made $3.5 billion from baggage fees in 2014. "We talk about adjusting your ticket price for the price of fuel yet nothing has been done about these enormous baggage fees" he added. Boeing sells aircraft to all six carriers involved in the open skies debate and company officials have said repeatedly that they believe the existing US Open Skies agreement is good for economic growth and the global transportation industry. - Bernd Debusmann Jr. Originally from Mexico City I've been in Dubai since January 2015. Before arriving in in the UAE I worked as a general news reporter in TV and print in Mexico City NYC and Washington DC. I'm interested in defence issues politics technology aviation and history. In my spare time i enjoy traveling and football - I'm a keen fan of Chelsea FC. I developed an interest in the Middle East traveling through Jordan and the West Bank. I have a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College in the USA and an MA in International Journalism from City University London.
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