Tuesday’s edition of the Chicago Tribune’s Voices of the People featured a letter to the editor written by Danny E. Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, highlighting the tremendous contributions U.A.E. airlines have made to Chicago-based businesses.
Letter: U.S. carriers telling a one-sided story
By: Danny Sebright
28 April 2015
Chicago Tribune
Your April 22 editorial “Not a fair flight” fails to convey the enormous benefits provided by the Gulf carriers to American businesses, American workers and American consumers.
U.A.E. airlines contribute billions of dollars every year in combined economic activity to U.S. businesses. In fact, Chicago is a direct beneficiary, as passengers from cities across the Indian subcontinent, Asia and Africa can now get to O’Hare International Airport with a single, convenient connection in the United Arab Emirates. According to industry data, the daily Emirates and Etihad flights to O’Hare generate $671 million in local economic activity.
A major Chicago company, Boeing, also benefits from the growth of the U.A.E.’s airlines. U.A.E. airlines are the largest international buyers of Boeing commercial aircraft in the world. In 2013, Emirates’ and Etihad’s combined orders alone supported more than 500,000 U.S. aerospace sector and manufacturing jobs.
Rather than competing by improving customer services and offering a more robust route structure, United, American and Delta have launched a misleading campaign aimed at reversing long-standing U.S. aviation policy. They are criticizing U.A.E.-based airlines for allegedly receiving unfair support from their shareholders while seemingly ignoring the fact that the U.A.E. airlines carry tens of thousands of U.S. travelers to and from numerous emerging global business markets. The U.S. carriers’ views are shortsighted and protectionist, and will ultimately harm consumers and U.S. economic interests. By choosing not to compete and levying false accusations, the U.S. Big 3 risk hurting cities such as Chicago, where international airports are engines of growth.
