Dubai: Etihad Airways is contributing billions of dollars to the United States economy and supports tens of thousands American jobs, the airline has claimed amid a heated row with US competitors over subsidies.
Etihad released its third commissioned report in as many weeks on Wednesday refuting allegations the airline is stealing passengers from US airlines and risking American jobs.
The US’ largest airlines, Delta, United and America, want their government to curb the growth of Etihad, as well as Emirates and Qatar Airways, because they say the Gulf carriers are propped up by state subsidies that help them steal passengers.
The report by Oxford Economics found that Etihad is supporting 23,400 US jobs and contributed $2.9 billion to the country’s economy this year, according to an emailed statement. This is projected to double to 46,200 American jobs and $6.2 billion to the economy by 2020.
An additional $1.3 billion will be spent in the US this year by the 260,000 passengers Etihad expects to carry to the US in 2015.
Etihad said that the US airlines are benefiting from its growth with it delivering 182,000 passengers to US airlines last year. This is expected to increase 65 per cent to 300,000 this year, Etihad said.
The Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, the lobby group representing the US’ largest airlines in their spat with Gulf carriers, in rejected Etihad’s report and said that the airline “continues to ignore the fact that it exists thanks to billions of dollars in subsidies from the UAE, a direct violation of its Open Skies agreement with the United States.”
“These subsidies are directly harming the US aviation system, as well as threatening hundreds of thousands of American jobs and local economies throughout the United States. That's why we are requesting that the US government immediately begin consultations with the UAE, as well as request a freeze on any additional flights by Etihad,” said Chief Spokesperson Jill Zuckman, by email.
