Keeping the skies open helps us all

The US decision not to alter the Open Skies deal is a vote for meritocracy over protectionism

The US decision not to amend the Open Skies agreement is a victory for the Gulf airlines. Delores Johnson / The National
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Passengers who fly frequently between the United States and this region are the main winners in the decision by the United States government not to change the Open Skies agreement. The three biggest domestic US airlines had campaigned for a year for the state department to intervene, claiming that Etihad Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways were competing unfairly against them through what they claimed were hidden subsidies.

Those who do this journey often will know how the introduction of the Gulf carriers on this sector brought far higher levels of service, newer aircraft and a much more comfortable journey compared to what their US counterparts were prepared to offer. Even before this decision, all passengers – whether they used the Gulf carriers or not – have already benefited because the American airlines felt compelled to lift their game because they were losing market share. This is how markets are supposed to work.

If the Open Skies agreement was altered to protect the domestic US airlines so they did not find themselves having to introduce these improvements, it would have been a retrograde step that was little more than protectionism. Given the role that money and influence so often play to distort US government decision-making in favour of special interest groups, it is heartening that the authorities have opted to make a stand in favour of true competition in the market, based on meritocracy.

In the long run, the aviation industry both in the US and beyond will be stronger for this decision. There are already predictions that in time Chinese airlines will seek to set new standards in global aviation, similar to the way Etihad Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways have done with the American market. The correct response at that point ought to be for the Gulf carriers to look at how they can do the job even better than the way they do now. We will know that the market is working as it should if all airlines raise their standards pre-emptively before this impending challenge emerges.

Ultimately, consumers win in a properly functioning market, whether the industry is aviation or any other. Few would like to go back to the days when passengers’ needs were a low priority, with airlines able to exploit a lack of choice to impose whatever would maximise their own profitability. While there is an understandable corporate tendency towards complacency, the arrival of competitors such as the Gulf carriers keeps everyone efficient.