April 16,2015 The Honorable Anthony R. Foxx Secretary ofTransportation US Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington, DC 20590 RE: United States Open Skies Dear Secretary Foxx : On behalf ofthe City of Fort Worth, I am writing you today to discuss United States Open Skies and how we can level the playing field for American businesses and maintain the environment of fair market competition that has been a hallmark ofAmerica's success. Over the past decade, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline have received billions ofdollars in government subsidies and other unfair benefits in direct violation ofUnited States Open Skies policy. I am asking you to recommend that the U.S. government open consultations with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to address the massive, market-distorting subsidies that those nations provide their state-owned airlines. To be clear, I firmly support Open Skies and recognize the considerable benefits that the policy has brought to American travelers and the U.S. economy. I am not seeking to end the agreements with Qatar and the UAE, nor are we raising concerns with regard to any ofthe more than one hundred other Open Skies agreements. I, with others, am simply requesting consultations, which are provided for within the Open Skies agreements themselves. These subsidies are altering the free market framework established by Open Skies and they will ultimately have a negative economic impact here in the United States

. Heavy subsidization by the Gulf carriers is contributing to excess capacity, which draws passengers and revenue from United States airlines. IfU.S. based airlines continue to lose market share, it will lead to service cuts and ultimately Americanjob losses. In fact, according to a white paper released by the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, each route that is lost to Qatar, Etihad or Emirates will result in an average net loss of821 good U.S. jobs. These are jobs that we cannot afford to lose and they should not be lost as a result ofunfair competition from foreign carriers. In response to these very serious concerns, some have stated that American, Delta and United must simply do more to compete and offer better services. As someone who is familiar with these airlines and their ser-Vices in our region, I can assure you that they are doing more to compete and creatively looking at ways to offer better and specialized services. They can compete with any airlines in the world as long as they are competing on an equal playing field and everyone is playing bythe same set ofrules. It is the United States governrrient' s responsibility to ensure fair competition with regard to Open Skies policy, which is why we are asking you to open consultations on this issue

. Fort Worth



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# ..**~.!** Printed on recycled paperIfyou have any questions regarding this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me directly on my cell at 817-392-6120. Thank you for your service for our country
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