Congressional Delegation Joins Big Three in Open Skies Debate

The debate over open skies and the effect Middle Eastern airlines have had on domestic jobs has reached Washington.

Chicago Business Journal reports 17 members of the Illinois congressional delegation have penned a letter urging the current administration to look at the policy that its believes is adversely affecting domestic brands United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

At the heart of the matter is these carriers taking umbrage with airlines from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, which big three officials claim have drastically undercut them on price and are slowly closing in on enticing routes.

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The bipartisan delegation offered a letter on June 28 to various governmental officials, namely U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Boss.

The letter accuses UAE and Qatari governments of dumping money into these airlines, allowing them to offer dramatically lower fares to American consumers: “The subsidies from the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have enabled their airlines to rapidly increase capacity at the expense of U.S. carriers and their employees by pushing U.S. airlines off key routes.”

Routes are no longer relegated to those originating in Qatar or the United Arab Emirates. However, CBJ makes a great point: “What the letter neglects to note, however, is that the traffic brought into Chicago by the dreaded Middle East carriers sometimes connects on to destinations such as smaller Illinois markets—thereby benefiting the U.S. carriers and the smaller markets they serve.”

Politico explains the debate over this very thing has polarized the White House with some looking to take a hard line while others see the budding routes and decreased fares as glorious opportunities for consumers.

Its report explains what’s at stake and what we could possibly see transpire in the coming months: “Administration officials cautioned that they have not yet reached a consensus about what they should do if anything and a final decision is not imminent. Options on the table include informal talks with the UAE and Qatar to limit the number of flights into the U.S. or restrict certain routes. Another option is terminating the agreements with those countries and using the one-year period before the termination goes into effect to negotiate better terms.”

You can exhale a bit because Politico is quick to remind that the administration isn’t eager to impose any new regulations at a time when countries like Qatar are under duress from sanctions from bordering nations that claim its government finances terror groups.

READ MORE: Airline Industry Responds to Qatar Airways CEO’s Offensive Comments

Politico also broke some news on the letter front, stating that it was ghostwritten by United officials behind the scenes: “If the letter sounds like it could have been written by a United lobbyist, that’s because it was. A draft copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO shows Adam Hepburn, a United lobbyist, as the author.”

The ongoing debate saw similar tactics employed back in March when U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) wrote to Tillerson and Chao, urging the administration to take quick action against what they view as antagonistic airlines.

TravelPulse’s Rich Thomaselli explains the crux of the argument: “Where the big three say the alleged subsidies alter the international travel marketplace and give the Gulf airlines a decided advantage, others say it creates more competition and a better pricing structure.”

The consumer is getting more varied opportunities and access to the world through lower fares. However, the major domestic carriers are crying foul over what each view as an unfair advantage.

The writing on the wall suggests that we will have at least a few more months of debate, letter writing and governmental inaction.

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