Flag carrier Philippine Airlines asked the government to look into alleged unfair practices by Middle Eastern carriers, before granting the foreign airlines more flights in and out of Manila.
PAL asked the Philippine air panel to learn from the bitter experience of major US airlines in dealing with their counterparts from the Arabian Gulf, including Emirates and Etihad.
PAL echoed the sentiment of the US airline industry against the alleged tactics of Middle East carriers that are currently being investigated for unfair competition.
US airlines recently criticized alleged abuses by Gulf-based carriers and PAL said the Philippine government should also safeguard the interests of Filipino air travelers against the negative effects of additional yet unwanted flights from the Middle East, especially with next week’s air talks between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.
The US government is looking into allegations of unfair practices of carriers from the UAE and Qatar which are subsidized by their governments by as much as $42 billion.
“We hope our own government will promote fair competition and support our airlines who have invested much in re-establishing air links to the Middle East and Europe,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said.
United, Delta and American Airlines earlier formed the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies coalition calling on Washington to enforce the open skies agreement, which they claim is weighted in favor of Gulf carriers.
It asked the US government to put a temporary block on new US-bound services by Etihad Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Many government-subsidized Mid-East carriers were lobbying for more flights into the Philippines to carry passengers to destinations beyond the country, to the detriment of Philippine-based airlines.
“We call on the Philippine panel to the PHL-UAE air talks to refrain from giving Mid-East carriers undue advantage by granting more capacity and frequency beyond what the market requires,” Bautista said.
The new air talks on Aug. 27 and 28 between the Philippines and UAE is expected to benefit Emirates Airlines, which is seeking more flights from Manila and Dubai.
Emirates Airlines requested for new air talks between the Philippines and UAE after Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific opposed the extension of Emirates’ third daily flights between Manila and Dubai.
The CAB also penalized Emirates for selling tickets beyond what its flight entitlements for the Manila-Dubai route allowed.
The Philippine-UAE existing agreement provides for a maximum of 14 weekly frequencies for the Middle Eastern country’s flag carrier.