Ed Bastian, the CEO of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, spoke to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on June 27 and praised President Donald Trump for assisting his industry in an ongoing dispute with Middle East air carriers. “We are 100 percent in agreement with what the Administration is doing to help American workers compete on a level playing field,” Bastian told the audience of journalists.
Bastian said “trade wars and tariffs generally are not good for business,” but quickly added that “to the extent that some of our industries have legitimate concerns, they should be addressed and the administration should look into them.” Delta and other major U.S. airlines “have been victimized by unfair trade practices” for many years, he said. “I’m very, very appreciative,” he declared, “of what the administration has done to address our trade issues.”
A National Press Club release quotes Bastian as saying that, despite headlines of an impending trade war, “we have seen no pull back in travel between the United States and China” which has been growing by more than 10 percent a year. He said Delta Air Lines would soon launch a new route between Atlanta and Shanghai.
The release further said Bastian highlighted the developments in his industry’s dispute with several Middle East airlines. Last month, the Trump Administration announced an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to have its two major airlines, Emirates and Etihad Airways, open their accounting books by publishing annual financial statements, subject to external audits that follow international standards.
In a side letter the U.A.E., which owns the two air carriers, said it has “no plans” to add more direct flights from other countries to the United States. A similar agreement was announced in January with the government of Qatar, which owns Qatar Airways.
The action had been sought by Delta, along with American and United Airlines. Bastian said massive subsidies by the Middle East governments had made it very difficult to compete with their airlines, which have grown rapidly. The U.A.E. and Qatar — which have denied making improper subsidies — have said that even though there are no plans to expand current third-country routes to the U.S., which now run from Athens and Milan, they are free to do so in the future.
The Delta chief said the agreements with the Middle East carriers had paved the way for Delta to resume nonstop service to India and expand flights to South Korea. And he said the airline’s greatest opportunities for growth were in its international routes and the agreements would help remove unfair obstacles to that expansion.
