Call to Action... Our futures

[tailhookah]

We all need to be very afraid over the advance of the middle eastern airlines into our turf, using our own tax payer dollars to buy cheaper Boeing airplanes than are available to US companies. We also need to continue to deny NAI by calling our congress and to engage in the ALPA calls to action for their denial into our skies.

There are also certain non legacy airlines that are giving these companies (and NAI if allowed to certify) full domestic feed in the US. While you think that's great for your growth, it'll bite you in the a$$ in the end. As these ME airlines continue more and more market penetration, more and more people will fly on them, w/ your feed BTW, until they get enough clout on capital hill to drop the cabotage and foreign ownership rules... when that happens it'll be over for all of us.

The time to act is now... join ALPA PAC and stay engaged to your congress. Call, email or write your reps and engage.

 

[DUBLINFLYER]

Don't forget about Ryan Air, they were quoted in the Irish newspaper yesterday that they were planning service to 15 US destinations in the next few years if they get wide body aircraft
"THIE IRISH ARE COMING THE IRISH ARE COMING"
Happy St. Pats Day to all

 

[tailhookah]

Cut and pasted from the "Partnership for Open & Fair Skies". "A level playing field for us all".

###############################################



Restoring Open Skies: The Need to Address Subsidized Competition from State-Owned Airlines in Qatar and the UAE is a 55-page white paper commissioned by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines and presented to the U.S. government.

The document proves that multi-billion dollar subsidies are provided by the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline in violation of Open Skies policy. Evidence gathered during a global, two-year investigation ? including newly obtained financial statements and other records ? shows that those three state-owned carriers have received $42 billion in quantifiable subsidies and other unfair benefits from their respective governments in the last decade alone, including:

Qatar Airways
$8.4 billion in government ?loans? and ?shareholder advances? with no repayment obligation $6.8 billion in subsidies from government loan guarantees

Etihad Airways
$6.6 billion in government ?loans? with no repayment obligation $6.3 billion in government capital injections $3.5 billion in additional undisclosed government funding in 2014

Emirates
Unquantified subsidies from purchases of more than $11 billion in goods and services from other government-owned companies at not-at-arm?s-length prices

These massive subsidies have enabled Qatar, Etihad and Emirates to rapidly expand their fleets and international routes, distorting the commercial aviation marketplace and diverting global traffic to their hubs. In fact, these carriers are expected to grow capacity at more than three times the growth rate in global GDP (a key indicator for the anticipated growth in global demand) between 2012-2020.

Qatar, Etihad and Emirates are not meaningfully stimulating new passenger demand on their routes. The only way these airlines can grow at such a rapid pace is by using the huge, artificial advantage created by government subsidies to capture U.S. airline market share, shifting American aviation jobs overseas and negatively impacting the U.S. economy. Every international roundtrip flight foregone or lost by U.S. airlines results in a net loss of more than 800 U.S. jobs.


################################################

There are agreements that the US, European and ME Airlines all signed for "Fair and Open Skies". Of course NO airline ever expected to be competing against sovereign states backed by billions of petrol dollars. That's the rub. So there are some airlines out there, in the US that back unlimited code share w/ these carriers... those MEC's need to address that... all of you need to join the ALPA PAC to fight this on the Hill. If you don't agree with me, then you are an idiot.

Tailhookah

 

[typhoonpilot]

The Maginot line worked real well too .

Protectionism = the strategy of the foolish.

If you would stop buying into the ALPA garbage on these topics and actually go out in the world to see what is happening you might then realize that the U.S. airline management is, once again, being catastrophically stupid.

There are 1 billion people in all of the Americas. One billion people in all of Europe, including Eastern Europe and Russia. This while there are 4 billion people in Asia and another 1 billion in Africa. At present population growth rates Asia will add another 1 billion people and Africa close to 2 billion by the year 2100. The population of Europe and North America is likely to decline in that time. The populace of Asia and Africa is becoming more affluent and able to afford air travel. So where is the growth in air travel going to be?

Traditionally North America and western Europe had the major air travel markets. That dynamic has been changing rapidly over the last 20 years. The growth of the ME3 and others is, in large part, directly attributable to those changing dynamics and their perfect geographical position in the world to serve the new markets.

Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar serve on average only 10 cities in the USA. British Airways serves 25, Lufthansa and Air France right up there near 20 also. Korean has two non-stops a day ATL-ICN. DAL has zero.

Interjet and Volaris in Mexico pay A320 captains $4500/month. Avianca pay a 787 captain around $7000/month. Avianca/TACA and Lan/TAM are becoming huge airline groups. They both have ambitious plans for expansion into the USA and Europe with modern efficient airliners. Yet nobody seems to be sounding a warning call on them. They are paying half of what Norwegian pay, yet somehow they are not a threat .

I would advise not enabling your management by supporting their "destined to fail strategy of protectionism". Make them open their eyes and see what revenue potential is out there in the world. Go after the revenue. That is what will protect your future, not trying to fence off a declining percentage of the world air travel market.



Typhoonpilot

 

[tailhookah]

Typhoon... maybe you can send me that hookah pipe you're puffing on. First, the European CEO's are all backing the US legacy CEO's regarding the ME3 and their government subsidies... you see, the ME3 signed open skies treaties w/ us and Europe and are now breaking those treaties because of their subsidies, low rent and low fuel prices, not to mention slave like labor conditions that would not stand in a democratic country. If you are good w/ that then touche, since I would not be able to win an argument w/ a liberal socialist with dictator tendencies.

Now as for the "ALPA" garbage you mentioned. It was ALPA's dollars on capital hill that have staved off NAI for the time. You can thank ALPA for that. The PAC is playing a huge role in keeping low rent, slave like employers out of this market all for the benefit of our futures. Now maybe you fly for one of these subsidized carriers... if so we got nothing else to talk about. But you may fly for United or AA according to your ratings and if then, you are a complete idiot to think that ALPA's concerns, along w/ the European legacy carriers are moot...

Either way, I really don't think you get it.

I'll keep my money headed towards ALPA PAC and will keep engaging my reps on the Hill to keep that $hit out of my career.

Tail

 

[Andy]

I'll keep my money headed towards ALPA PAC ...

After the ALPO push poll on age 65 and subsequent support of 65, there's no way I'd send another dime to ALPO PAC. I was a working pilot in Dec 2007. Thanks to age 65, I was laid off in 2008 and not back to work as a pilot until 2012.

You can throw your money at those bloodsuckers in Herndon, but most think they're already taking too much vig.

 

[GlorifiedCabbie]

United States will avoid long U.S. Customs lines now that a new preclearance facility has opened in Abu Dhabi's. Who got paid for this to happen?

 

[tailhookah]

ALPA and the U.S. airlines fought that and lost. That was a U.S. government deal that couldn't be fought off. Thank the ME lobby for that one.

 

[Flopgut]

The same industry savagely attacked by a certain region/religion, should not then become dominated by that same region/religion, ever.

 

[Heavy Set]

The Maginot line worked real well too .

Protectionism = the strategy of the foolish.

If you would stop buying into the ALPA garbage on these topics and actually go out in the world to see what is happening you might then realize that the U.S. airline management is, once again, being catastrophically stupid.

There are 1 billion people in all of the Americas. One billion people in all of Europe, including Eastern Europe and Russia. This while there are 4 billion people in Asia and another 1 billion in Africa. At present population growth rates Asia will add another 1 billion people and Africa close to 2 billion by the year 2100. The population of Europe and North America is likely to decline in that time. The populace of Asia and Africa is becoming more affluent and able to afford air travel. So where is the growth in air travel going to be?

Traditionally North America and western Europe had the major air travel markets. That dynamic has been changing rapidly over the last 20 years. The growth of the ME3 and others is, in large part, directly attributable to those changing dynamics and their perfect geographical position in the world to serve the new markets.

Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar serve on average only 10 cities in the USA. British Airways serves 25, Lufthansa and Air France right up there near 20 also. Korean has two non-stops a day ATL-ICN. DAL has zero.

Interjet and Volaris in Mexico pay A320 captains $4500/month. Avianca pay a 787 captain around $7000/month. Avianca/TACA and Lan/TAM are becoming huge airline groups. They both have ambitious plans for expansion into the USA and Europe with modern efficient airliners. Yet nobody seems to be sounding a warning call on them. They are paying half of what Norwegian pay, yet somehow they are not a threat .

I would advise not enabling your management by supporting their "destined to fail strategy of protectionism". Make them open their eyes and see what revenue potential is out there in the world. Go after the revenue. That is what will protect your future, not trying to fence off a declining percentage of the world air travel market.



Typhoonpilot

I completely agree with this post. We will never see Emirates flying between Miami and LA despite what the US legacy unions say.... Instead, our legacy airlines should aspire to offering much better service and connections. I flew UAL recently to Europe as a pax and the service was atrocious and flight attendants unhelpful. It was embarrassing. Passengers need more choices - that will lead to improved service from all carriers. This protectionism stance is anti-American.

The US legacies need to use the billions of dollars from our inflated baggage fees and invest in better airplanes, better service standards and more responsive flight attendants. That's just the truth...