Northern Kentucky and Ohio leaders are pushing back against unfair subsidies provided by the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to their state-owned carriers, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Emirates Airline.
This initiative, which includes elected officials, chambers of commerce, community groups and labor organizations from both states as well as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Board, is urging Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to examine the subsidies that these airlines receive and initiate conversations with the governments of Qatar and the UAE to resolve these violations of Open Skies policy.
In a letter from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Bryan Sunderland, Senior VP of Public Affairs stated that, “[if] allowed to continue, this unprecedented level of financial backing will significantly distort the international market and adversely affect the many American and Kentucky businesses that rely on a healthy aviation industry.”
Underscoring that point, Harry Prestanski of Ohio Veterans United writes, “Ohio, with several major airports within its borders, has benefited greatly from Open Skies policy. The agreements facilitated international air travel and fostered an atmosphere of healthy and fair competition between airlines, to the benefit of travelers and businesses alike […] the government should seek a freeze on new capacity from the Gulf carriers to the U.S. while these negotiations go forward.”
The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Board reiterated the support for existing Open Skies policies when they wrote in a letter to Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, “CVG is a strong supporter of U.S. Open Skies policy and the benefits that it brings to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Open Skies air transport agreements have eliminated government involvement in many commercial aspects of international air services, including routes, capacity, and pricing, providing opportunities for global connections that did not previously exist.”
“[Taking] advantage of a massively uneven playing field to drive their U.S. competitors out of international routes, [the Gulf carriers are] dramatically expanding their fleets and lowering their fares to the point that they are actually losing money while they expand,” offered Andrew Doehrel, president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, adding: “We are requesting that the U.S. government open consultations with Qatar and the UAE so that the uneven playing field can be addressed.”
Open Skies agreements, designed to encourage free and fair open-market competition in the aviation industry, have been signed by the United States and over 100 partner countries. “[The] competitive imbalance [caused by the unfair subsidies] undermines the intent of the Open Skies agreements,” says Kentucky State Representative Adam Koenig in a letter to the secretaries, continuing on to point out “[Each] international roundtrip flight that the U.S. loses to a Gulf carrier results in an average loss of 821 jobs.”
Last month, 262 members of Congress, sent a letter to the Obama Administration requesting consultations and a freeze on expanded capacity. Additional supporters include:
· Brent Cooper, Kentucky businessman
· David Heidrich, chairman-elect, Northern Ky. Chamber
· Dayton Chamber of Commerce
· Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Board
· Covington Mayor Sherry Carran
· George Brunemann, Southwest Cincinnati Tea Party
· Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
· Nathan Smith, member, CVG Airport Board
· Ohio Chamber of Commerce
· Ohio Veterans United
· State Rep. Adam Koenig
· State Rep. Jonathan Dever
· State Rep. Sal Santoro
· State Rep. Addia Wuchner
· State Sen. Wil Schroder
· Sycamore Township Trustee Tom Weidman
· Tony Rosiello, Green Township trustee
· Western Economic Council
From Partnership for Open and Fair Skies