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US Travel Association backs Gulf carriers in Open Skies spat
The US Travel Association has come out strongly opposing the position of the big three US carriers in their fight with the Gulf airlines, citing their aggressive tactics to reduce competition and consumer choice.
US Travel Association CEO Roger Dow said any move to limit the US operations of Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways will ultimately harm inbound travel to the US.
“We wish we did not have to stand apart from our friends in the airline industry on this or any other issue but with their efforts to reduce competition in the aviation marketplace having become so aggressive — and the negative impact of these policies upon consumers so abundantly clear — we simply cannot sit idly by,” Dow said.
The comments came in response to a joint statement by a host of airline unions – Air Line Pilots Association, the airline division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Association of Flight Attendants, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and the Communications Workers of America – which claimed every roundtrip international flight lost to the Gulf airlines jeopardizes more than 800 US jobs.
“Having carefully scrutinized the Big Three airlines’ and their unions’ recent position on Open Skies, we arrive at a diametrically opposite conclusion: contravening these open and transparent agreements that were negotiated in good faith holds dire consequences for sustaining the U.S. economic recovery,” Dow added.
“I say this on behalf of the industry that has restored jobs 33% faster than the rest of the economy since the ’07-’08 downturn, and is now responsible for 10% of all US exports — it is partially thanks to Open Skies.”
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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