The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Airlines Claim to Document Subsidies at Gulf Rivals
“As the battle intensifies over U.S. airlines’ allegations of unfair state subsidies to three Persian Gulf rivals, a look at how the American carriers gathered data to support their claims sheds light on the vast financial reporting divide between the two sides.
As the battle intensifies over U.S. airlines’ allegations of unfair state subsidies to three Persian Gulf rivals, a look at how the American carriers gathered data to support their claims sheds light on the vast financial reporting divide between the two sides.Alarmed by the rapid U.S. expansion of Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, Delta Air Lines Inc. two years ago hired forensic accountants to learn more about the overseas carriers’ funding. All three are government-owned, and Etihad and Qatar don’t issue public financial statements.
The effort—later joined by American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. —culminated in a trade complaint lodged in January with the U.S. government. The U.S. carriers claim the documents they found show the Gulf trio has received $42 billion in subsidies and unfair benefits since 2004, including about $17 billion for Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, and $16 billion for Doha-based Qatar Airways. The Gulf carriers say they are commercial enterprises that aren’t state subsidized.”