Tiny Air Italy Pushes Back on Big U.S. Carriers That Say It Competes Unfairly
Photo Credit: An Air Italy Airbus A330. This airplane was delivered new to Qatar Airways in 2003. Flickr / Anna Zvereva
Skift Take
The three largest U.S. carriers say Air Italy competes unfairly. But it is highly unlikely the airline is breaking any U.S. or EU laws. If the U.S. airlines want to break Air Italy, they'll have to do it the old-fashioned way — through ruthless competition.
Air Italy, the European airline 49 percent owned by Qatar Airways, continues to push back against accusations by the three major U.S. carriers that it is "cheating" by adding new flights from its Milan hub to several U.S. cities.
"I would love to know how we are cheating,” Rossen Dimitrov, Air Italy's chief operating officer, said in an interview. "We are a fully European airline, and we meet all the regulations and requirements of the EU. We have a majority shareholder which is European."
This is the latest in the war of words between the trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, and the largest Gulf carriers, Qatar, Emirates, and Etihad Airways. The group, the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, long has complained about Gulf carriers, arguing they are unfairly subsidized by their governments, leaving the U.S. airlines unable to compete effectively.
Historically, it has two issues. First, it objected to flights the carriers launche
