A report by The Risk Advisory Group, prepared for Etihad Airways, finds that American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have received government- and court-sanctioned benefits and concessions totaling $71.48 billion since 2000.
The Risk Advisory Group’s study, Financial & Other Governmental Benefits Provided to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines & United Airlines, released Thursday, follows a series of exchanges that began in January when the three U.S. carriers published a report alleging that Gulf carriers—Emirates, Etihad and Qatar—benefit from government subsidies that give them an unfair advantage under Open Skies agreements.
“We do not question the legitimacy of benefits provided to U.S. carriers by the U.S. government and the bankruptcy courts,” said Jim Callaghan, general counsel and company secretary for Etihad Airways. “We simply wish to highlight the fact that U.S. carriers have been benefitting and continue to benefit from a highly favorable legal regime, such as bankruptcy protection and pension guarantees, exemptions from certain taxes, and various other benefits. These benefits, which are generally only available to U.S. carriers, have created a highly distorted market in which carriers such as Etihad Airways have to compete.”