Delta Airlines Will End Its Atlanta-Dubai Flight Effective Feb. 2016; Are Gulf Carriers To Blame?

Delta Airlines will end its Atlanta-Dubai Flight effective Feb. 11, 2016.  The US airline thinks that the Persian Gulf carriers including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar have received $42 billion subsidies from its government owners for the past ten years. The allegations were dismissed by the carriers.

Delta Airlines' announcement comes on the heels of their decision to lessen the flights from the world's busiest airport to the Middle East biggest airport in less than a month.  Apart from the suspected subsidies, Delta is also accusing the Gulf carriers of open skies compliance according to ATW Online.

 "Delta is competing with every one of those flights, all of which are heavily subsidized by the United Arab Emirates. Unlike Delta, the Gulf carriers don't have to worry about being profitable or operating under the normal constraints of a free market, making fair competition impossible. Indeed, Delta's Atlanta-Dubai route lost money for two years before we made the difficult decision to cancel the service," the Delta Airlines said in a statement to Point Me To The Plane Boarding Area.

In the open letter by Peter Carter, the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Delta Airlines, he explained in a lengthy message the real reason why they decided to cancel their Atlanta-Dubai route. He claimed that for almost two years, their company has experienced major loss as the competition with the subsidized Gulf carriers have been so tight.

Delta's loss can be attributed to its limited flight from Atalanta to Dubai. The Gulf carriers extend their flights to sub-Indian continent, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, but Delta Airlines cannot.  The market is now being served by the subsidized Gulf carriers. Carter also pointed out that the Emirates carriers have great advantage  as it  operates 14 out of the 16 daily departures from US to Dubai in 12 U.S. cities.

As part of the plan, the Delta Airlines is now redeploying its Boeing 777 to other destinations across the Atlantic. Delta Airlines, United and American have requested Department of State, Transportation and Commerce to have an open talk with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar about the case.