Delta Air Lines has not flown to Dubai since February 2016, and American Airlines has never flown to the United Arab Emirates. Because of the growth in this region, it is peculiar that two of the biggest airlines in the United States (US) and the world have no service. And there is previous history to be discussed.
In 2015, the 'Big Three' airlines in the US, Delta, American, and United Airlines, came together to fight against the government subsidies that Gulf carriers were allegedly receiving.
The American airlines claimed that Gulf carriers were being unfairly subsidized by their governments and that these subsidies amounted to more than $50 billion in one decade. But Gulf carriers denied these accusations.
At one point, former Delta CEO Richard Anderson even made comments that the governments of Qatar and the UAE had been involved in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
According to USA Today, the American carriers had prepared a 55-page document showing the Gulf carriers were receiving subsidies. The airlines hoped the American government would renegotiate the Open Skies Agreement in place with each Gulf nation.
In addition to requesting renegotiation, the US airlines asked that the government block any new routes from Qatar and the UAE until the conflict was resolved. Scott Kirby, United's current CEO, and then-President, said the following in 2017,
"Our political system in the United States is messy and often frustrating, but the great thing about this country is, at the end of the day, we do the right thing. This is so clearly the right thing. I don't know when or exactly how it will happen, but I believe that we will get to a world where we get fair competition."
Oscar Munoz, who was CEO at the time, also criticized the Gulf carriers, saying they were not even airlines but branding vehicles for their countries. Shortly after his comments, Emirates took a shot at United.
United always welcomes its passengers to the "Friendly Skies." In April 2017, the airline dragged a passenger off their flight, and Munoz blamed the passenger. Emirates then posted a video criticizing United and wrote the following on the closing clip: "Fly the friendly skies... THIS TIME FOR REAL." Emirates also referenced Trip Advisor, which labeled Emirates as the best airline worldwide.
According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, Delta used to operate nonstop flights from Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Dubai International Airport (DXB).
At the time, both Emirates and Etihad Airways connected the UAE to the US. Delta operated flights on the route daily for several years, before its final flight in February 2016.
In October 2015, Delta announced it would stop flying to Dubai and said there were too many flights from the US to the UAE and Qatar. Back then, the Gulf carriers had more than 90% of seats available to the Gulf region.
United had eventually launched its own service from Washington and was the only other American carrier to serve the UAE.
Peter Carter, Delta's Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at the time, said,
"Emirates has been flooding the market with capacity. We know this is not the first route we've had to cancel as a result of the subsidised Mideast carriers."
Most of the traffic from the US to the UAE was from passengers transiting through Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, which meant that US airlines could not continue operating. But Emirates claimed this was not true and that Delta was able to fill more than 85% of the seats on its flights.
In May 2018, the American and Emirati governments signed a deal to resolve the ongoing conflict. The deal was similar to one that had been agreed to by the American and Qatari governments earlier in the year.
Etihad Airways and Emirates would share detailed financial information about their operations. A report from Reuters said,
"UAE must ensure that the airlines' transactions with government-owned entities are conducted on commercial terms. The disclosures could help U.S. carriers make the case that the airline is potentially getting unfair government subsidies."
Since the deal between the government was signed, only United has begun service to the UAE. The airline announced in late 2022 that it would begin flying to Dubai from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) while at an event during which it revealed a new codeshare partnership with Emirates. United had previously flown to Dubai from October 2008 to January 2016.
As mentioned above, Delta has not flown to the UAE since cutting its flights in 2016. American Airlines has never served the UAE, but did start serving the Gulf region in June 2022.
As part of a deepened relationship with Qatar Airways, which had been a oneworld Alliance member since 2013, American announced it would fly from New York to Doha.
Flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Hamad International Airport (DOH) were launched in June 2022.
But this route lasted just over one year as American swapped its Doha service to its hub at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Flights are operated daily year-round on the airlines Boeing 787-9.
When flights from JFK first launched in June 2022, AA filled 80.06% of its seats, but two months later, its load factor dropped. In August, only 66.22% of seats were filled; in September, that dropped to 64.69%.
By the time service was swapped over to Philadelphia, American had operated 1,010 roundtrip flights, carrying 243,091 passengers, filling 82.59% of its seats.
