Some say that if you repeat a thing over and over, you start to believe it. I’m starting to think that is what’s happening with Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline.

They say they’re “delivering tens of thousands of passengers” to the U.S., but the truth is they are just using their subsidy-fueled flights to take passengers from U.S. airlines. 

I hate to break it to them, but they’re not changing the facts. The Gulf airlines are flooding the market with house money and taking away U.S. jobs from folks who are just trying to play fair.

Compass Lexecon did a little digging and found some inconvenient truths about what the Gulf carriers are doing to the U.S. market:

• Gulf carriers are not generating demand. A statistical analysis of passenger traffic from 2008 to 2014 showed that Gulf carrier presence on city-pairs between the United States and international destinations failed to meaningfully stimulate additional traffic.

• Gulf carriers are directly impacting international flights by U.S. airlines. When the Gulf carriers add a city-pair between the United States and an international destination and each of them grab at least a 10 percent share, U.S. airlines’ passengers are reduced by 50 percent, on average.

• This isn’t just an international issue. Goodbye Evansville, IN → Chicago, IL, hello unnecessary flights through Dubai. Airline flights to small hub airports depend on international travel to support flights across the entire U.S. network. Folks booking international flights with the subsidized Gulf carriers instead of U.S. airlines means domestic flights (and U.S. jobs) may get cut.

The Gulf carriers’ rapid expansion into the U.S. market isn’t a vague threat on the horizon. It’s happening today – in fact, one of the Gulf carriers announced new direct flights from Doha to LA, Boston, Atlanta and New York just this month.

This isn’t something we can sit on. Subsidized expansion is costing U.S. jobs right now. We’re on the clock.

Ask your friends to join the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. Tweet out or share the petition that you already stepped up to sign.

Thanks for your hard work.

Jill