The US3 won't give up anytime soon, and the US3 are being encouraged by at least two of the EU3 to continue lobbying and to do so with full force against the GCC3. I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. airline industry's cartel kingpins may try to make their anti-GCC3 campaign even dirtier than it has already been.

Dirtier like:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/32202615
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/etiha...sm-587811.html

perhaps? :D

The APFA (Association of Professional Flight Attendants) union is also, of course, part of the US3/Fair Skies Lobbying Partnership.
https://www.apfa.org/partnership-for...and-fair-skies

What amuses me, is those who think EK is a scam, point to the US routes (and too a lesser extent several European routes) as evidence of this. As I've said before, it certainly seems likely that the ULH US routes are subsidised in some way, at least for now, and I agree with the OP on this point. The evidence presented against this theory, I think is fairly flimsy. However, I still don't buy the argument that this makes the whole operation subsidised. Many airlines subsidise specific routes from more profitable parts of their network whilst they are developing new markets.

It's not hard to find markets where EK would, at face value based on the pricing that isn't exactly low, seem to be doing quite well, such as East Asia/China -Africa. (Compare what EK charge for PVG-Luanda vs UA flights PVG-Chicago, which are similar distances). Others that I've found priced towards middle of the road (or even on the high side) include Australia-UK/Europe, some parts of SE Asia-Europe, UK- Australia amongst others.

It's not hard to find parts of the EK network that seem heavily discounted. It's also not hard to find other parts of their network that seem to be priced quite high relative to mainstream non-subsidised competitors.

I'm just waiting for them to go into rants about "sex slaves" and other exploitation of women issues, as if the GCC3 airlines have a corner on that. ;). It wouldn't surprise me if they try to play a racist card in conjunction with that too, a play which may include playing up to fears of the proverbial Othello and "miscegenation".

They already have: Delta CEO Richard Anderson Links Gulf Airlines Like Emirates And Etihad To 9/11 Attacks

The OP also informed us, several pages ago, that the US "doesn't like" Middle Eastern countries.

The OP has gone very quiet recently...

Must be waiting for the next tweet from @FairerSkies.

I was also amused to read about staff (specifically female crew, which I think the union are singling out in accusing EY and by extension EK and QR) being confined in "secure compounds" - having seen some of these "secure compounds" for EK staff in Dubai, which for cabin crew seem to consist of hotel pools and fitness clubs, top nightclubs, restaurants and various other party locations (sometimes paid for by EK, or various other suitors/patrons), it seems that perhaps the ALPA is suffering from a bit of jealousy that its members don't have the same privileges :D

The OP and others have been busy with picking up things from the US Travel Association's Daily Getaways deal. Interestingly enough it is the US Travel Association which has been standing up for the GCC3's continuing use of the relevant Open Skies treaty arrangements to serve the US consumers.

Apparently, the US3 don't dominate the U.S. Travel Association. Perhaps the US3 have burned bridges with, or otherwise annoyed, one too many US hotel and car rental company?

it was my understanding that most expats, and practically all of the locals too, also like to live in "secure compounds". Basically, anyone with a bit of money.

But for the FAs, they do have the downside of having to share rooms. :td::td::td::td:

It's probably a lot like being in a sorority house on a US campus! Particularly for those employees coming from less-wealthy countries and who may never have lived away from home before or had any decent job prospects at home.

For EK cabin crew it's a choice as to whether you want to share a flat or have your own flat - essentially the shared flats are generally in busier locations such as near HQ or down SZR, but the single accommodation is a little bit out of the way such as near the border with Sharjah. I find it's more likely the new hire Grade 2 staff like to start off in the shared accommodation and make lots of new friends and then after a couple of years move into single accommodation as it becomes available (and they grow up!).

I was making a wry comment about secure compounds, not specifically gated communities :D - for those who have never been to Dubai or indeed Abu Dhabi, shall we simply say that "confinement in secure compounds" is completely untrue - indeed, especially for cabin crew, you can find them out and about living lives of leisure in Dubai in all sorts of glamorous locations (especially the female crew!). They seem to be quite in demand for all sorts of things :D - e.g. free entry, tables and drinks at various clubs on certain nights. Quite enjoyable for 22-25 year olds on the first job away from home! Especially as many people (usually men) end up buying them lots of dinners and drinks if they want it!

QR is the company that has staff compounds and although it is rather strict by comparison to EK and EY, it is in no way like the implication that they are all kept in slave pens (the issue of GCC labour conditions especially for unskilled manual labourers notwithstanding). All you need to do is look at a few QR crew instagram accounts to see what they get up to in Doha in the evenings...!

Most sorority houses are officially dry, so in that respect it is perhaps better.

Emirates have been the very best airline on the LHR-DXB flights for me. The A380 is an amazing aircraft. The service on EK Economy rivals the customer experience I've experienced on other airline's Business Class service.

The service, yes; the seats, not so sure about that.

Compared to the US3, the GCC3's economy class service more consistently includes better non-wifi IFE, food and drink, and a cabin crew that is less hostile toward (or paranoid about) passengers. On the ground, the difference in attitudes of ground staff isn't all that different. The seat pitch and width? Not all that great either. But still they fill them up, and often enough sell seats at a price premium over what the EU3 advertise.

EK is planning to increase capacity by using more high-density A380s and sending them to service ZRH and CPH. Of course, since EK economy class passengers don't matter that much to a healthy bottom line, this won't at all bother LH/LX/SK/OS and the lobbying harpies (in the U.S. or Europe). ;)

amen, just type ekcrew or emirates under instagram hashtags. you will find loads of EK crew *mostly females, be fair* who seems having time of their lives.. absolute opposite from the picture that some US3 unions try to paint.. During my first EK F trip, i get a chance to chat with crew, i get an impression that most of them really enjoy themselves (they say sometime it can be tiring with short turnarounds, etc but can deal with it).

What do you expect him to do?

His opinion is backed up not only by the vast vast majority of industry experts and insiders, but also by a 70 page report with detailed information about the subsidies.

Basically, his accusation has been confirmed by multiple sources and even GUwonder and thehill.com (What a source !! :D) confirmed all kinds of subsidies for more or less every player on the planet. What a huge surprise :p

I really understand that the vast majority of posters on this board lacks any experience in the industry, also lacks a degree in a field related to Aviation Management, so I can only repeat myself:

Not really possible to start up an airline like Qatar, Etihad or Emirates with $10 million and an A310 and/or 727.

But let me challenge you on one point as well (for the sake of keeping this discussion going)

Can you name any industry expert (I am fine with another writer from thehill.com or ESPN2 or the Weather Channel) who is able to confirm that EK is actually not burning huge amounts of cash and is not subsidised in any way? And while you are on it, could you try to find anyone willing to comment why other countries and private parties are not copying the approach by the NE3. Obviously, I mean really really obviously, you can make billions doing so, so I wonder why GulfAir, Oman Air and/or someone in Saudi-Arabia did not discover his huge source of profits.

With the weekend approaching fast, do not waste too much time. ;)

You will have a hard time. :D:D:D