3 US Airlines Allege Cheating by Gulf Carriers on Fair-Trade Agreement

Three major U.S. airlines are urging new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to investigate Middle Eastern airlines who they say are cheating on a fair-trade agreement, Yahoo Finance reports.

The CEO's of United, American and Delta airlines, in a letter penned to Tillerson on Feb. 1, allege that three state-owned Gulf carriers — Qatar, Etihad and Emirates — are benefiting illegally from state-government subsidies, putting 300,000 American jobs at risk.

"The subsidies allow the Gulf carriers to operate without concern for turning a profit, unlike U.S. airlines, and therefore focus entirely on stripping market share and driving out competition," they wrote in the letter. "The subsidy-enabled capacity dumping by the Gulf carriers has nearly eliminated U.S. carrier service to the Middle East and India. If left unchecked we will continue to see the Gulf carriers expand in the U.S. market, causing further harm to hard working Americans. In fact, for every long-haul route lost or foregone as a result of subsidized Gulf carrier competition, more than 1,500 American jobs are lost," said the chairmen of the three U.S. airlines.

The U.S. airlines have pushed for the government to open discussions with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over subsidies, which they allege to be more than $50 billion, but the Obama administration never took formal action.

The U.S. has Open Skies partnerships with 120 foreign partners. The agreements are bilateral agreements that the U.S. negotiates with other countries to create a free-market environment for the airline industry.

• 'Air Rage' Forces Delta Flight to Turn Back to Airport
• American Airlines Uniforms Safe, Maker Says, Despite Reaction Reports