New US coalition attacks the ‘Big 3’

The bickering continues over the Open Skies agreement, now with the Big 3 being targeted by their own.

A new coalition of US passenger and cargo airlines has put their own opinions forward in a letter to the US Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to express their opposition to the demands of the Big 3 airlines of Delta, United and American Airlines, according to eTN.

The arguments of the Big 3 are fired at the Gulf carriers of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, and while they claim there’s an unfair playing field for aviation competition, this new US coalition says these are only the views of the three key American players.

The coalition consists of Atlas Air Worldwide, FedEx, Hawaiian Airlines, and JetBlue Airways, per eTN, airlines who collectively transport more than 40 million passengers annually, ship nearly eight million tons of cargo, and employ approximately 350,000 people, 40% more people than the Big 3 combined.

The letter addresses the significant economic benefits of Open Skies, including for airline passengers, who save $4 billion annually on US international routes thanks to this network of aviation agreements, writes eTN.

It also stresses the significant detriment to US consumers, commercial and military supply chains, and the US economy generally if America goes ahead with freezing new US routes for airlines from the UAE and Qatar.

The coalition is insisting on a renegotiation of its Open Skies agreements with those countries, as demanded by the Big 3 US airlines.

“The Big 3 do not speak for all, or even most, U.S. airlines,” Hawaiian Airlines’ ceo and president Mark Dunkerley said.

“Our coalition believes that the United States should honour its Open Skies commitments, which opens markets for US carriers, promotes competition on international and domestic routes, and facilitates US exports.”

Similarly, FedEx ceo and president David Bronczek added that these actions undermine everything US airlines stand for.

“The Big 3 say that they support Open Skies, but the actions they recommend would undermine it,” he said.

“Those actions would breach our Open Skies agreements, provoke retaliation against US carriers, and raise serious doubts about whether the United States is a reliable Open Skies partner.”

The coalition admit that a competitive aviation industry is inevitable, and must put travellers first.

“Global competition is a fact of life,” JetBlue’s president and ceo Robin Hayes said.

“Open Skies has opened the door to tremendous new opportunities for US airlines including JetBlue – competition that benefits consumers and the economy – and we must oppose calls to roll back that progress and risk reverting to the old days of heavy government regulation of our industry.”

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