Open Skies? Fair Skies? Gulf competition stirs debate

U.S. airlines, which have usually pushed for "open skies" agreements that have let them expand into new markets previously closed except to the local domestic carriers, are now asking the Federal government to slow down, and perhaps renegotiate some of them. (NY Times, Feb. 6)

The reason behind the shift, and the airlines' demand for what they are calling "fair skies" is that the big 3 Gulf-based airlines, Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, have become formidable competitors, opening flights to more and more U.S. gateways, while only few U.S.-carrier flights serve the Gulf hubs. They complain that the Gulf carriers have an unfair advantage because of government subsidies. The Guld carriers, on the other hand, point out that not only U.S. but European carriers have benefited from government intervention to keep the companies in business.