Ahmad unfazed by US revisiting deal

Emirates CEO says he’s not worried by the reconsideration of Open Skies agreement

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, said he was not worried about the US potentially reconsidering Open Skies agreement with the UAE, now that Donald Trump is president of the US.

In an interview with CNNMoney, Shaikh Ahmad said Emirates has contributed to the US economy by investing $140 billion (Dh514 billion) there and supporting jobs. “I’m not worried. I think they should look at the case [open sky policy] in a very open way. I think we’ve been always transparent in terms of the financials that we put out every year, looking at Emirates and what it has been doing since it started in 1985,” he said.

Shaikh Ahmad also told CNNMoney, “We signed a bilateral with the US in 1999, and it was actually the Americans who were pushing for this agreement to be signed as an open sky policy. Since then, we’ve been operating to the US. As of next March, we’ll be operating 18 flights daily to the US, and that’s really a big contribution.”

His comments follow a meeting between top executives at US airlines and US President Donald Trump, who reportedly told the airlines he would help them compete with foreign carriers.

This also follows a long dispute between US-based airlines and Gulf carriers after Delta, American Airlines, and United alleged in 2015 that Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways received over $40 billion in subsidies from their respective governments. All three airlines have repeatedly denied the allegation.

The US airlines have since been seeking to restrict the Gulf carriers’ flights to the US.

In late January 2017, Emirates announced it will launch a daily service from Dubai to Newark Liberty International Airport via Athens starting March 12. The move sparked heated reactions from a lobby group representing US airlines. But when asked whether it was wise to announce that route amid the ongoing dispute, Shaikh Ahmad said, “No, it’s not really about poking the bear at the wrong time. As I said, we have a bilateral and this is the way. I don’t think [it was a provocative move].”