A “white paper” submitted by Qatar Airways to the US government makes it amply clear that the subsidy allegations levelled against it by the “Big 3” US carriers of American, Delta and United are groundless.
The white paper addresses and answers all issues raised in the Open Skies debate, which has put into question the longstanding US policy of allowing carriers to fly to and from the US with minimal government interference.
The Big 3 and their unions have been pressing the US government to depart from its pro-Open Skies stance and impose unilateral limits on the services operated by Gulf airlines, even though the policy has been specifically designed by the US government to ensure that American carriers are free to operate their extensive networks without foreign government restrictions on the level and “routings” of the services they offer.
Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar al-Baker has called on the US government to reject calls to “freeze” the US-Qatar Open Skies Agreement.
The biggest US carriers have made ample use of their behind-country (Sixth Freedom) traffic rights and fought hard to preserve their own access to those rights, and to carry Fifth Freedom (third country) traffic as well, Qatar Airways asserts.
Given that these policies have been created by and for US carriers, it is ironic that they are now describing the use of these traffic rights to be “unfair” when exercised by Gulf carriers, the white paper notes.
“It is puzzling to see the biggest US carriers describe Qatar Airways as a ‘threat’, given our small size and lack of direct competition with them. Their longstanding focus on other markets and large (and growing) profits completely undercut this claim,” al-Baker has stressed.
In its white paper, Qatar Airways demonstrates that many of the market changes complained of by the Big 3 are not the product of “unfair competition” - or anything related to subsidy - but are instead the byproduct of important advances in aircraft technology and significant demographic changes.
Qatar Airways also demonstrates that its services are lawful and consistent with the US-Qatar Agreement, which in Article 11.2 says that “neither party shall unilaterally limit the volume of traffic, frequency or regularity of service, or the aircraft type or types operated by the designated airlines of the other party”.
Despite this “clear language”, the Big 3 are urging the US government to ignore its obligations by imposing a unilateral limit on Qatar Airways’ capacity.
The report also shows that the airline’s operations to the US market have “significantly contributed to the economy in terms of jobs, cargo and overall passenger traffic (tourism and business travel growth), as well as providing benefits for non-aligned US passenger carriers, cargo carriers and airports”.
