NEWARK, N.J., March 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, United
Airlines employees, union representatives and members of Congress
rallied at Newark Liberty International Airport to support U.S.
aviation jobs in the face of Emirates Airline's new daily service
between Newark and Athens, Greece – the latest example of massive
Gulf subsidies undermining the domestic airline industry.
Subsidy-enabled flights supported by the governments of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Qatar violate international
aviation agreements, distort the market and undermine competition,
threatening hundreds of thousands of U.S. aviation workers in the
process.
Since 2004, the governments of the UAE and Qatar have provided over $50 billion of unfair subsidies to grow their
flag carriers – Emirates Airline, Ethiad Airways and Qatar Airways
- forcing U.S. carriers to cancel long-haul international
service. Emirates Airline's new daily flight from Newark to Athens is the latest example of how these
massive government subsidies are undermining the U.S domestic
airline industry. United offers flights from Newark to Athens only during the summer because the
market demand does not support year-round service.
"Each time a U.S. carrier is forced to cut one of these
long-haul international routes, American jobs are at risk," said
Rick Hoefling, vice president of
United's Newark hub. "That
translates into fewer jobs for pilots, ground crew, flight
attendants and all of those who make our domestic aviation sector
one of the best around the world. We look to the new administration
to enforce our international aviation agreements and stand up for
all U.S. aviation workers."
At Newark Liberty today, Hoelfing was joined by uniformed United
employees; U.S. Representatives Donald
Payne Jr. (NJ-10) and Josh
Gottheimer (NJ-5); Ken Diaz, president of United's
Master Executive Council of the Association of Flight Attendants;
and United Captain Glenn Johnson,
Council 5 chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association to stand up
for airline employees in the New
Jersey/New York area
against the subsidy-fueled expansion by the Gulf carriers.
More information on United's efforts to ensure legitimate and
healthy competition among domestic and international carriers can
be found at openandfairskies.com/united.
About United
United Airlines and United Express operate more than 4,500
flights a day to 339 airports across five continents. In 2016,
United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights
carrying more than 143 million customers. United is proud to have
the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S.
mainland hubs in Chicago,
Denver, Houston, Los
Angeles, New
York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 737 mainline
aircraft and the airline's United Express partners operate 483
regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192
countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit
united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The
common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc.,
is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL".
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SOURCE United Airlines