The Lobbying Groups in the Fight for Open Skies Over U.S. Airspace
Photo Credit: A Delta Air Lines plane at JFK. flickr.com / Andrés Nieto Porras
Skift Take
It isn't often that you see the U.S. Travel Association calling out anyone, let alone the largest airlines in the U.S., but the Gulf carriers' subsidy issue has exposed deep differences about competition and the global travel industry.
Who is subsidizing the various coalitions lining up on either side of the debate over Open Skies agreements and the alleged $42 billion in governmental subsidies handed out to three Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar?
Although U.S.-based coalitions on both sides of the argument talk a lot about fair or Open Skies, there isn't an excess of candor on the ground about their financial backers.
Here's a look at the coalitions and where things are headed:
OpenSkies.travel
In the case of OpenSkies.travel, founded by veteran business travel advocate Kevin Mitchell and his for-profit organization, the Business Travel Coalition of Radnor, Pennsylvania, there can sometimes be less than meets the eye.
OpenSkies.travel strenuously opposes the efforts by Delta, American, United and seven labor unions to get the U.S. government to intervene and rewrite Open Skies agreements, and thereby to stall the expansion of the Gulf carriers into the U.S.
Mitchell's coalition seemingly
