FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The president of the Allied Pilots Association, Capt. Keith Wilson, issued a statement today expressing his appreciation for the 262 members of Congress who signed a letter urging the U.S. government to seek consultations with the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates regarding subsidies to their state-owned airlines.
“As the congressional letter attests, compliance with the open-skies agreements our nation has entered into is an issue that concerns a broad cross-section of lawmakers,” Capt. Wilson said. “We deeply appreciate this strong show of bipartisan concern and look forward to a prompt response from the State and Transportation departments regarding the lawmakers’ request for consultations with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The massive subsidies these governments have provided to their respective airlines have distorted the marketplace and threaten thousands of middle-class U.S. jobs.”
Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association — the largest independent pilots union in the United States — is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines and US Airways, including several hundred pilots on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s website is www.alliedpilots.org. American Airlines is the world’s largest passenger airline.
APA is a member of the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, which is calling on the Obama administration to open consultations under the open-skies agreements with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to address the flow of subsidized capacity to the United States and seek a freeze on new passenger service during the consultations.