Qatar Airways US expansion a ‘punch on the nose’ says embittered Open Skies contingent

In response to Qatar Airways’ planned expansion to eight new cities, including Las Vegas, NV, the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies issued the following statement.

“The new Qatar Airways Las Vegas-Doha route is one more punch in the nose to the United States of America as the Gulf states flagrantly disregard their agreements with our country,” said Jill Zuckman, chief spokesperson for the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies.

“We have extensively documented that Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways are only able to carry out their rapid expansion thanks to massive government subsidies that violate Open Skies agreements with the US and threaten 300,000 American jobs. In just the last two years, there has been more than a 46 percent increase in Gulf carrier flights to the US – flights that simply don’t make economic sense for a rational, profit-minded business to operate. Sadly, these important international trade agreements have not been enforced, costing America solid middle class jobs. We urge President-elect Trump to take this on once he is sworn into office.”

The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies calls on the president and Congress to ensure fair competition and fight for American aviation workers by addressing these subsidies and enforcing the Open Skies agreements with Qatar and the UAE.