The war of words between Arabian Gulf airlines and their American rivals over open skies has been turned up a notch following allegations of declining traffic between the US and the Middle East.

The US airlines – American, Delta and United – claimed that bookings from Orlando, San Francisco and Chicago to the region and beyond were down by as much as 13.3 per cent following the entry of Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways on those routes.

The claim prompted a strongly worded response from Emirates. “The latest rhetoric by the Big Three American airlines once again demonstrates how they are only concerned with their narrow interests, at the expense of consumers and the broader economic interest,” it said.

“The new data being flogged by them only considers the decline in bookings for US carriers and their joint venture partners. It totally disregards the fact that overall bookings grew with the start of Gulf carrier services into US cities – including Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago,” an Emirates statement added.

The row between American and Gulf airlines has been simmering for a year, with claim and counter-claim about the alleged anti-competitive effects of unfair government subsidies on the part of the Gulf carriers. The issue is currently being considered by US authorities including the justice, commerce and transport departments, although no imminent decision is expected.

The Americans alleged that Gulf governments had provided $42 billion in subsidies to their airlines, contrary to open skies aviation agreements. The regional carriers dismissed the claims, and have asked the US authorities to rule on the matter.

Their argument is that the travelling public chooses Gulf carriers because of better standards of service, scheduling advantages and ticket prices.

“Instead of splurging on lobbying campaigns to lock out competition, instead of blaming Gulf airlines for loss of bookings or market share, the Big Three should rather consider how they can redirect some of their record profit to improve the services they provide to consumers, and contribute to growing the overall pie for the benefit for the broader economy,” Emirates said.

Emirates added: “It is disturbing that Delta, United and American presume they and their partners are entitled to their existing share of traffic, as if they own their customers, when they don’t make a corresponding effort to improve their service and product proposition to win consumers’ hearts and wallets.”

The Gulf carriers’ share of the American airline market to the region has increased as they have grown their offering. For instance, traffic from Orlando has surged since Emirates began flying the route last year.

Overall flight bookings to the Middle East, West Asia and South East Asia during September to December 2015 increased 74 per cent compared with the same period in 2014 before Emirates’ entry into the market, from an average of 232 to 409 bookings per day, the airline said.

The Americans also claim that Gulf carriers are destroying jobs in the US. But Emirates cited statistics showing the opposite.

But according to recently published data from the US department of transportation, full-time employment figures by the main American airlines has gone up year-on-year by 3.7 per cent. “This contradicts the oft-repeated claim that competition results in job losses among Delta, American and United. In addition, all three airlines – particularly Delta – have been reporting bumper profit quarter-on-quarter,” Emirates said.

The airline plans to continue its expansion to US routes. It recently put Airbus A380s on to the route to Washington DC, and is considering opening a service between Dubai and Atlanta, a route that it regards as underserved following the decision by Delta to pull out of the service.

Emirates will add 36 new aircraft – A380s and Boeing 777s – this year to its worldwide fleet, retiring 27 older aircraft.

It recently said that it has not detected any signs of a slowdown in aviation despite challenging economic and security conditions in some parts of the world.

fkane@thenational.ae

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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.

What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL

 

Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE

Name: HyperSpace

 

Started: 2020

 

Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez

 

Based: Dubai, UAE

 

Sector: Entertainment 

 

Number of staff: 210 

 

Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

The specs

Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor

Power: 320bhp

Torque: 605Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh219,000

On sale: Now

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre V6

Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km

Price: Dh179,999-plus

On sale: now 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

War

Director: Siddharth Anand

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor

Rating: Two out of five stars 

match info

Maratha Arabians 138-2

C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15

Team Abu Dhabi 114-3

L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17

Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs

THE SPECS

Engine: 3-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 424hp

Torque: 580 Nm

Price: From Dh399,000

On sale: Now

COMPANY%20PROFILE

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The five pillars of Islam
What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

All%20We%20Imagine%20as%20Light

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPayal%20Kapadia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kani%20Kusruti%2C%20Divya%20Prabha%2C%20Chhaya%20Kadam%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

How to help

Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send “thenational” to the following numbers:

2289 – Dh10

2252 – Dh50

6025 – Dh20

6027 – Dh100

6026 – Dh200

The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Kerb weight: 1580kg

Price: From Dh750k

On sale: via special order

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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

WHAT%20IS%20’JUICE%20JACKING’%3F

%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Juice%20jacking%2C%20in%20the%20simplest%20terms%2C%20is%20using%20a%20rogue%20USB%20cable%20to%20access%20a%20device%20and%20compromise%20its%20contents%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20The%20exploit%20is%20taken%20advantage%20of%20by%20the%20fact%20that%20the%20data%20stream%20and%20power%20supply%20pass%20through%20the%20same%20cable.%20The%20most%20common%20example%20is%20connecting%20a%20smartphone%20to%20a%20PC%20to%20both%20transfer%20data%20and%20charge%20the%20former%20at%20the%20same%20time%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20The%20term%20was%20first%20coined%20in%202011%20after%20researchers%20created%20a%20compromised%20charging%20kiosk%20to%20bring%20awareness%20to%20the%20exploit%3B%20when%20users%20plugged%20in%20their%20devices%2C%20they%20received%20a%20security%20warning%20and%20discovered%20that%20their%20phones%20had%20paired%20to%20the%20kiosk%2C%20according%20to%20US%20cybersecurity%20company%20Norton%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20While%20juice%20jacking%20is%20a%20real%20threat%2C%20there%20have%20been%20no%20known%20widespread%20instances.%20Apple%20and%20Google%20have%20also%20added%20security%20layers%20to%20prevent%20this%20on%20the%20iOS%20and%20Android%20devices%2C%20respectively%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Biography

Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related

Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.

Family: Wife and three children.

Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.

World Cup League Two

Results

Oman beat Nepal by 18 runs

Oman beat United States by six wickets

Nepal beat United States by 35 runs

Oman beat Nepal by eight wickets

 

Fixtures

Tuesday, Oman v United States

Wednesday, Nepal v United States

 

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

SPECS

%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20750hp%20at%207%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20800Nm%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%207%20Speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20332kph%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012.2L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYear%20end%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh1%2C430%2C000%20(coupe)%3B%20From%20Dh1%2C566%2C000%20(Spider)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber

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