Washington, D.C. (April 16, 2015) – Today the presidents of the Air Line Pilots Association International, the Allied Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Communications Workers of America, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO sent a letter to Congress urging members to call on the U.S. government to open consultations with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Over the past decade, Qatar and the UAE have provided more than $42 billion in subsidies to their state-owned airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates, a clear violation of the Open Skies agreements. Without the pressure of financial profitability, these airlines are competing with an unfair advantage over U.S. airlines.  In the letter, the union presidents argue:  

“These subsidies make it possible for these airlines to flood the market with excess capacity on international routes, displacing U.S. airline market share and shifting U.S. jobs overseas.  By one estimate, each international roundtrip route ceded or foregone by U.S. carriers results in a loss of more than 800 American jobs.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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