June 30--Emirates airline vigorously defended itself Tuesday against allegations by U.S. airlines that it gets unfair government subsidies, releasing a written rebuttal that goes on for some 200 pages and hosting an 80-minute news conference by its president.
Allegations by Delta, American and Chicago-based United are a "protectionist bid to restrict consumer choice," the airline said.
"The methods employed by the U.S. legacy carriers to discredit Emirates have been surprising and, frankly, repugnant," said Tim Clark, president of Emirates airline.
Those large U.S. airlines alleged in a white paper that three Persian Gulf carriers have received $42 billion in illegal subsidies from their governments over the past decade. Those Gulf carriers -- Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways -- deny getting unfair subsidies.
The U.S. mega-carriers have asked the U.S. government to seek talks with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to resolve what they see as violations of so-called Open Skies policies with those nations and to stop Gulf carriers from adding more flights to the U.S.
The Gulf carriers deny the accusations and have lashed back against the U.S. airlines' relentless campaign. For example, Etihad released its own report detailing what it calls $71.5 billion in government and court-sanctioned benefits and concessions U.S. airlines have received, including bankruptcy protection and pension fund "bailouts." U.S. airlines have said those don't count as unfair subsidies.
It was Emirates' turn on Tuesday.
"Unlike the Big 3's white paper, which is riddled with inaccuracies, conjecture and legal misinterpretations, Emirates' response is comprehensive and based on hard facts," Clark said. "We clearly show why the Big 3 have no grounds to ask the U.S. government to unilaterally freeze Emirates' operations to the USA or pursue other action under the Open Skies agreement.
"It is because we are absolutely not subsidized, and our operations do not harm these legacy carriers, but instead benefit consumers, communities and America's national economy."
Clark said he met Monday with officials from the U.S. Departments of State, Transportation and Commerce to brief them on the airline's response.
Jill Zuckman, spokeswoman for the Partnership for Open Fair Skies, which represents the U.S. airlines, said in a statement:
"Emirates can submit as many pages as it wants, but it still won't paper over what has been well-documented: Emirates has received billions in subsidies and unfair benefits from the treasury of the UAE. Our investigation shows that these massive subsidies have allowed Emirates, Etihad and Qatar airlines to expand far beyond what market forces could ever support, distorting international competition and tilting the playing field to its advantage.
"With American jobs at stake, the time for action is increasingly urgent. We respectfully ask that the U.S. government request consultations with Qatar and the UAE, and stand up against these unfair government subsidies that violate our Open Skies agreement."
Read Emirates' rebuttal here.
gkarp@tribpub.com
