"Invasion" by Arab Gulf Airlines.
 

From the WSJ Middle Seat column:

***

Jeff Smisek , chief executive of United Airlines, called for U.S. government limits on Gulf airlines. (The Obama administration has shown no signs of a policy change.) Mr. Smisek’s counterpart at American, Doug Parker , told an airline conference this fall that the Gulf carriers were his biggest business concern.[/QUOTE]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/emira...053400420.html

So I don't care about the US airlines complaining about unfair competition due to subsidies that these airlines may be receiving. The US airlines are making money hand over fist and they're all devaluing FF programs so for consumers, there's absolutely no down side to increased competition.

Main concern is whether these airlines are involved with abusive labor practices with the cheap Asian immigrant workers. The region has been accused of exploitative use of immigrant workers for the building of World Cup venues, as well as the luxurious hotels.


It seems flying these airlines for TATL, especially from the West Coast, is of limited value though. I guess you'd fly all the way over to the Persian Gulf and then connect back to Western Europe, which is probably a 3-4 hour flight?

I don't know what kind of frequent flyer programs they have or whether they belong to global alliances. I noticed that Ethiad for instance has many of the same airline partners who are whining about them:

http://www.etihad.com/en/about-us/our-partners/

Would be fantastic if US consumers can use miles from US programs for awards on these airlines.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

AAdvantage miles are redeemable on Etihad and Qatar, as well as smaller carriers Gulf Air and Royal Jordanian. (And until recently, they were also redeemable on El Al.)

Do they show up on aa.com?

Too bad you can't fly them to Oceania from US.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

RJ does; for the others, you must call AA.

And you can fly EY/QR from North America to the South Pacific, but it will cost you two separate awards.

Invasion by Persian Gulf airlines
 

Or EK with AS miles

EK currently have the JFK - MXP flight already mentioned, and lots of rumours of a UK to North America flight being planned.

would be great to see them do more US-EU

9W had US-china and US-EU at one point IIRC

When United as example... charged you for inflight entertainment and alcohol in economy many people will prefer European or Gulf carriers than any cheap service provided by all the american based airlines...

More competition, let them bury the garbage US legacy carriers or force them to adapt and offer less awful onboard products.

I worked at QR for five years and can tell you that they are an excellent employer for all grades.

All staff are paid in full and on time, and accommodated in safe, secure housing. In the case of junior staff their pay and housing almost always exceeds that which they could expect at home.

Well said. The more competition there is, the better it will be for the passenger. I for one won't think twice given the choice of flying either United or AA vs Emirates or Qatar.

The US carriers will have to drastically improve their overall service for me to start feeling a tiny ounce of sympathy for them.

I know many who love the ME-based carriers.

Given some of the carriers' reported labor practices, I prefer to avoid them.

:eek:

I completely agree with this. If the US airlines are scared of the middle east carriers, maybe they should ask themselves "why would people rather fly these airlines" and adapt their business plan accordingly. Having flown several middle-eastern airlines, these airlines easily beat the US-based carriers the following areas:

1. The airports are beautiful and functional. This includes the lounges--lounges in the US are an embarrassment compared to the middle east (and Asia).

2. There is generally a higher level of customer service. While the language barrier can sometimes be an issue, I consistently feel that the staff on the middle eastern airlines is 10x more service oriented than in the US. For example, they don't staff their flights with old, cranky flight attendants who are bitter that they have no other career options (yes, I know this is a generalization).

3. First class really means first class. For example, take the first class terminal at DOH. Flying first on a 3-class UA or AA aircraft doesn't even come close to the level of service you get overseas (not to mention that the hard-product is generally much better too).

4. They don't fly little 50 seat RJs everywhere. I've been on 40 minute flights from DXB to DOH on a 777 (where they served a full meal!!). While I realize this may not be completely sustainable in the US, I think that it could be adopted in certain markets. For example, instead of having hourly RJ flights between BOS and PHL (which ultimately leads to more ATC delays in BOS/PHL), cut the frequency and fly A330s (or at least 757s or 767s)!

I have flown on the ME airlines and they do offer a better level of service and comfort, which any issues like language helps to overcome.

However I have certainly read some information about staffing and some of the standards and discipline measures undertaken.

I do get it if you go to work in a different country you do need to observe their culture and be respectful.

But stories of a flight attendant who stays the night at a friends apartment, gets reported by the apartment blocks security guard - gets summons to HR - told she is sacked, and here is a ticket for the first flight out, goes to the atm and finds all her funds frozen, then when in transit from Australia to Europe a year later - denied entry into DOHA to visit friends - as she is not a suitable person to be a visitor.

By all means fire the person if they do not follow the rules, but freezing her assetts not really acceptable

Spot on! I'm platinum on UA. They treat me very well however, in comparison to the Persian Gulf airlines their product (hard and soft) simply stinks. There's nothing wrong with some healthy competition to make a company take notice of their offerings and up their game. Especially, when airlines are doing so well -- by nickle-and-diming their customers.

It's a win for the consumer.