Trump's Hot Air In Fight For US Skies

Trump wades into dispute over “unfair” Gulf airlines US expansion. “He is focused on trade violations by the UAE and Qatar that are costing American jobs”

- Mary Schlangenstein and Toluse Olorunnipa, with Deena Kamel Yousef and Yousef Gamal El-Din

President Donald Trump has told US airlines he'll help them compete with foreign carriers that are aided by their governments, a crucial signal of White House support for an industry campaign that began in 2015.

“A lot of that competition is subsidised by governments, big league,” Trump said at a White House meeting with the nation’s largest airlines, air freight companies and airports. “I’ve heard that complaint from different people in this room. Probably about one hour after I got elected, I was inundated with calls from your industry and many other industries, because it’s a very unfair situation.”

Active involvement by Trump would answer two years of prodding by Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. to act on claims that $50 billion in government support have enabled three Arabian Gulf carriers to compete unfairly. While Trump didn’t name individual foreign companies, the US airlines asked to meet with the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss their allegations against airlines Emirates, Etihad Airways PJSC and Qatar Airways Ltd.

Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian suggested a connection between opposition to alleged subsidies and Trump’s focus on job creation in the US.

“At Delta, we plan to hire 25,000 people over the next five years with the support of a level playing field globally,” Bastian said in a statement about the White House meeting.

Etihad declined to comment. Representatives for Emirates and Qatar Air didn’t respond to requests for comment. The airlines have disputed the claims of their US rivals.