Three major airlines, Delta, American and United, are planning to ask president-elect Donald Trump for protection from competition, the Washington Post reported.
The three U.S. airlines have tried lobbying the Obama administration, asking for protection against three Gulf airlines, the Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates, which are growing at a rapid pace and making their way into the global market.
"We look forward to briefing President-elect Donald Trump and his new administration on the massive, unfair subsidies that the UAE and Qatar give to their state-owned Gulf carriers," said Jill Zuckman, spokeswoman for the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies.
"The Gulf carrier subsidies threaten the jobs of 300,000 U.S. aviation workers and the American aviation industry as a whole, and we are optimistic that the Trump administration will stand up to the UAE and Qatar, enforce our trade agreements and fight for American jobs," she said.
Competition from the Gulf airlines has cut the U.S. airways passenger load to Middle East and Asia by 20 percent, the article explains.
"In a filing to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the airlines said passenger loads from Boston were down by almost 23 percent and from Washington Dulles International Airport by 25 percent, and their joint venture partners had seen a more than 28 percent drop from Seattle on flights bound for the two regions," the article said.