Fellow Delta and United pilots,
By now many of you have read ALPA President Captain Tim Canoll?s recent letter to the membership titled ?A Deal is a Deal.? If you have not, we urge you to read his
March 17th letter. Five years ago ALPA first identified the looming problem Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airlines (ME3) would pose to our industry and profession if their subsidized, unbridled growth was left unchecked. That problem is here today and it is
our job to fix it!
We believe our industry has finally turned the corner to an outlook of sustained profitability. Our companies? recent success has been built through pilots and other employees working hard in a free market to better compete. We believe in a free and fair market and the opportunity it creates for our airlines globally. These Gulf carriers pose a threat to the free market itself as well as our carriers? bottom lines. That is why we are calling on all of our members to
sign our petition demanding the U.S. government enter into consultations with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on our Open Skies agreements.
These airlines do not compete fairly, where demand determines capacity and the bottom line drives growth. The ME3 have collectively received more than $42 billion in subsidies from their governments in the past ten years. Fueled by this massive infusion of public cash, they have become the fastest growing airlines in the world, stealing our market share, lowering our revenues, and costing us jobs.
The latest front of the ME3?s war against our carriers is our European routes. After entering an already competitive market in 2013, Emirates now accounts for nearly 19 percent of the bookings between New York and Milan. They are currently selling tickets for $799 for two round trip seats on a B-777 and will soon up-gauge to an A380. They are running the flight with only 40 percent load factor. Profits do not matter when your government is willing to absorb any and all losses.
In Asia, in India, and in Europe, our routes and our jobs are being threatened. Even our managements, so often focused on beating each other in the marketplace, have joined together with ALPA and others to fight back against these predatory, market-distorting carriers. Our
Partnership for Open & Fair Skies has published a
white paper proving the massive, unprecedented subsidies that are now directly impacting U.S. airline industry jobs.
Together, we are calling on all of our pilots to join with their Master Executive Councils (MECs) to engage our government on this issue.
Sign the petition, contact your elected officials, and contribute to
ALPA-PAC to help fight back against state-owned enterprises subsidizing their way into our markets. Our jobs and industry are under attack by the ME3 carriers. Make no mistake. If left unchecked their actions will cause irreparable long-term harm to our careers.
Join with us to demand the U.S. government review the subsidies, begin consultations with Qatar and the UAE, and require these carriers to open their books and play by the rules!
