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http://atwonline.com
Emirates rebuts subsidy claims, says US airlines have unclean hands
Emirates Airline has issued a 192-page report rebutting subsidy
allegations lodged against it by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and
United Airlines, calling the US carriers argument a mess of legal
distortions and factual errors.
Emirates president Tim Clark spent more than 90 minutes briefing
reporters and fielding media questions Tuesday morning in Washington
DC, pushing back strongly against American, Delta and United. We will
not be subjected to bullyboy tactics and browbeating, he said. We have
to stand our ground on this There must be a line drawn in the sand
In the end, enough is enough.
Clark said he met Monday with representatives of the US Departments of
State, Commerce and Transportation and presented them with Emirates
rebuttal report. They assured us they would evaluate this case on the
facts, he said. They wont be influenced by theatrics Theyve been
receptive, theyve been listening.
In the report, Dubai-based Emirates categorically states that it is not
subsidized and charges that the Big Three US airlines come to this
debate with unclean hands. They have received billions of dollars in
government support, including US government assumption of airline
pension obligations, airline stabilization grants, loan guarantees,
grandfathering of airport slots, bankruptcy relief from debt and other
obligations, direct grants and tax exemptions to support airport
development, grants of antitrust immunity to form market-dominant
alliances, protection of the US market from foreign competition, and the
prohibition against majority foreign ownership.
Clark said the three US airlines have received more than $100 billion in
government support since 2002. In the report, Emirates charges that the
US airlines are asking the United States to undertake a massive
departure from Open Skies policy.

http://atwonline.com

Clark asserted that there is no facility within the [US-United Arab

Emirates Open Skies] document to reopen the agreement over the
subsidy dispute between the US airlines and Emirates. (The US carriers
also allege Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have benefited from
subsidies that violate Open Skies accords.)
While Emirates is owned by the Dubai government, Emirates has earned
a profit for 27 straight years and is a financially transparent business
with nothing to hide, Clark said. He acknowledged that Emirates has
benefited from the Dubai governments visionary policies in aviation
that are envied by the European Union and the US, adding, Of course
the state, as it does in the United States, provides aviation
infrastructure.
But he said such government backing is in no way a justification for
disrupting Open Skies agreements, noting that many airlines around the
world are owned or partly owned by governments. Where does it end?
Clark asked. Where do the [US] legacy carriers cherry pick? There are
many, many state carriers now flying to the US You start on this path of
interdicting Open Skies, it will never end Once it starts with us, what
are you going to do with the Chinese carriers?
Jill Zuckman, a spokesperson for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies
coalition backing the US airlines campaign against the Gulf carriers, said,
Emirates can submit as many pages as it wants, but it still wont paper
over what has been well-documented: Emirates has received billions in
subsidies and unfair benefits from the treasury of the UAE We
respectfully ask that the US government request consultations with Qatar
and the UAE, and stand up against these unfair government subsidies
that violate our Open Skies agreement.

http://www.ttnworldwide.com
Kenya Airways joins hands with Travelport
Travelport, a leading travel commerce platform providing
distribution, technology, payment and other solutions, and Kenya
Airways, the national airline of Kenya, jointly announced a new
merchandising agreement which will see Kenya Airways participate
in Travelports Rich Content and Branding programme.
The announcement coincided with the prestigious IATA aviation
summit, Connecting Africa The linkage of Regulation, Capacity
and Infrastructure, which took place in Nairobi on June 23 and 24.
Travelport and Kenya Airways current partnership sees Travelportconnected agents worldwide with access to effectively search,
compare and book Kenya Airways fares and offering via Travelports
Travel Commerce Platform.
Now, Kenya Airways has also signed up to participate in Travelport
Rich Content and Branding one of the key components of
Travelports suite of innovative merchandising solutions for airlines.
Rich Content and Branding enables airlines to market and retail their
offering more effectively by controlling how their products are
visually presented and described on travel agent screens, and is now
available through the latest version of the Travelport Smartpoint
agency desktop.
It will also allow Kenya Airways to compete more effectively in the
GDS, providing the ability to upsell and ultimately satisfying the
demands of the consumer.
Over hundred airlines have already signed up to participate in Rich
Content and Branding since its launch in 2014, including South
African Airways, Comair, Kulula, Etihad, Gulf Air, and British Airways.

http://www.anna.aero
Ethiopian Airlines debuts in Dublin and Los Angeles
The inaugural crew celebrate the arrival of Ethiopian Airlines in Dublin.
Services between Addis Ababa, Dublin and Los Angeles will be flown
using the carriers 787-8s. This is the first tri-continent route for the Star
Alliance member, and the first route from sub-Saharan Africa to the Irish
capital.
The first flight from Addis Ababa and Dublin touches down in Los
Angeles. On arrival, Ethiopian Airlines CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam
addressed the greeting crowds and media by saying: Ethiopians new
flights connecting Addis Ababa, Dublin, and Los Angeles will play a
critical role in the expansion of trade and tourism investment between
the fast growing continent of Africa, the US and Ireland. Flights on the
tri-continent route will operate thrice-weekly.
Ethiopian Airlines launched its first ever tri-continent route on 19 June,
beginning services from Addis Ababa (ADD) to Dublin (DUB), before
continuing on to Los Angeles (LAX). Flights will operate thrice-weekly
using the Star Alliance members 787-8s. Neither of the sectors on this
new route will face direct competition and it is the first time that both
Dublin and Los Angeles have been connected to Ethiopia. Commenting
on the route launch, Ethiopian Airlines CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, said:
Ethiopians new flights connecting Addis Ababa, Dublin and Los
Angeles will play a critical role in the expansion of trade and tourism
investment between the fast growing continent of Africa, and the United
States and Ireland. These flights are the first and only direct routes
linking sub-Saharan Africa with Ireland and the West Coast of the US.
They will bring these two seemingly far away cities much closer to Africa,
and will facilitate mobility and connectivity for businesses and the large
African diaspora community living in the West Coast of the US. Recently
the carrier revealed Dublin as its new European hub, where services to
Washington Dulles and Toronto Pearson make a technical stop on-route
from Addis Ababa. However the carrier has not been granted fifth
freedom rights on these services.

http://www.tradearabia.com
BIA to allow more flights to Egypt during summer

Gulf Air and Egypt Air will launch additional flights from
Bahrain International Airport (BIA) next month to allow
2,800 Egyptian teachers working for the countrys
Education Ministry to travel back home for the summer.
The additional flights to Egypt, which will see the
teachers and their families fly for the summer holiday,
will commence on July 2.
The airlines will allow passengers travelling on those
flights to check-in early and drop off their luggage one
day prior.