Premium #160 – OPEN SKIES – THE TWO EDGED SWORD

Airlines For America (A4A, formerly the Air Transport Association) and Delta Air Lines have been lobbying Capitol Hill to restrict open skies and some of competition that has emerged South Asia, and new competition from the Gulf, as US carriers are losing the battle for market share. Delta would like to see open skies repealed, or at least curtailed to restrict competition with “state-owned” airlines.

According to A4A, traffic to India for the big three US carriers and their code-sharing partners has fallen from 39% in 2008 to 34% in 2014, while the big three Gulf carriers increased their share from 12% to 40% of the market. It is amazing what an A380 on a route can do, with high quality cabin service and aggressive marketing.