“Aviation trade disputes are usually about as exciting as paint drying. But you should understand — and care about — the simmering controversy between U.S. airlines and three Persian Gulf operations because more than a few local jobs are on the line.

Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways are among the fastest-growing airlines in the world. However, they haven’t gotten big the right way, according to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The U.S. companies say that the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have shelled out more than $42 billion in illegal subsidies during the past decade to allow the three carriers to offer cheap international connections through their hubs and undercut other airlines.

The strategy has tossed several European companies into a tailspin, and the U.S. carriers rightly want the Obama administration to step in before U.S. commercial aviation suffers the same fate.”

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