US Big 3 vs Gulf 3 a year on: open skies, playing fields and policy: CAPA Airlines in Transition

It is more than a year since Delta, United and American Airlines published their 'White Paper' alleging state subsidies to Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. CAPA's Airlines in Transition (AIT) event in Dublin assembled a panel of senior industry figures moderated by John Byerly, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation at the US State Department, to review the arguments.

The US big three claimed that subsidies to the Gulf three distorted the market. They called on the US government to open consultations under the relevant bilateral air services agreements and, in the meantime, to freeze new passenger services. A ponderous bureaucratic process to examine whether action should be taken is still under way. European airlines have also been dragged into the debate.

At the same time, the Gulf airlines have continued to add and announce new routes to the US. Ultimately, the US big three's aims contemplate the termination, or modification, of the relevant 'open skies' bilaterals, which allow the Gulf airlines unlimited capacity on routes to the US (the bilaterals reciprocally offer the same to the US airlines). From airlines faced with unexpectedly effective competition this cynical approach was little more than an attempt to further distort an already protective bilateral system.