Trump meets with airline CEOs over Gulf subsidy accusations

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Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at yesterday’s airline CEO meeting with Trump and Pence. The chiefs of American, United, JetBlue, FedEx, Atlas Air and Qatar Airways met to discuss US accusations that subsidies by Qatar and the UAE are costing jobs in the US, reports Reuters. The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, (which some have argued is anything but) is trying to squash the ambitions of tiny Air Italy, part owned by Qatar Airways. Meanwhile the cargo players and JetBlue are trying to ensure that the US’s open skies remain that way – warning of “a rapid unravelling of hard-fought aviation rights around the world when other governments take similar action to shield their state-owned airlines from competition”.  

The US administration is yet to reveal what was said, but Scott Reed, managing partner for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, said “The president shares our concerns and instructed us to keep working with the US Department of Transportation.”