This week the U.S. Travel Association flew in hundreds of travel executives to meet with members on a range of issues including the “Open Skies” agreements. According to Politico, Delta, American and United have been lobbying the Trump administration to take action against the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which they accuse of violating their agreements with the U.S. by subsidizing their state-owned carriers, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. The travel executives have taken the side of the Persian Gulf carriers and will tell members “that Open Skies agreements have been critical to America’s efforts to capture a share of the highly lucrative international travel market,” Cathy Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Travel Association, wrote in an email.”
All three airlines are part of the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, a coalition of airline companies and related organizations. In 2015, under the Obama Administration, the group spent $6.1 million lobbying. The group has continued its efforts under the Trump Administration. Politico reports that the coalition has “sent letters to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and has been running TV ads on the issue.”
