In Mid-September, United Airlines and Emirates announced new partnerships at an event held at
Washington-Dulles International Airport. This announcement is a significant shift,
as tensions between the United States and Gulf carriers had been rather high just five years ago.
Let’s examine how things have changed with the signing of this latest deal
and what this could mean for the future of the two airlines…
It was only five years ago that Scott Kirby (then the President of United Airlines)
publicly stated that he expected the United States government to take action against Gulf Carriers
for creating an unlevel playing field by operating with government funding.
At the time, American carriers were upset that three major Gulf
carriers were flooding the market with low fares.
At the Boyd Group's International Aviation Forecast Summit in 2017, Kirby said
"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."
The quote-unquote 'big three' United States carriers, American Airlines,
United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, alleged in the past that Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways,
and Emirates had received more than $50 billion in government subsidies - having done so since 2004.
The Gulf carriers denied the allegations and said that the assistance received
from their governments is similar to the aid that American and European carriers receive from their
own governments. The accusations from the American carriers did not sit well with Sir Tim Clark,
President of Emirates, who called the allegations quote "surprising and frankly, repugnant."
At the time, the CEO of United Airlines, Oscar Munoz, criticized the gulf carriers saying,
"Those [Gulf] airlines aren't airlines. They're just branding vehicles for their countries.",
Of course, Munoz's comments did not sit well with Emirates, who took the opportunity
to mock United Airlines just a few weeks after his remarks were made.
In April 2017, United dragged a passenger off a flight from Chicago to Louisville
for refusing to give up his seat once onboard the aircraft.
Munoz blamed the passenger for the incident, and as you can see here, Emirates posted a video
mocking Munoz and United. The video showboated the numerous Emirates accolades at the time
and ended by inserting United's tagline about flying the friendly skies.
The video also had a slate that read, "Well, Mr. Munoz, according to Trip Advisor,
the world's largest travel site, not only are we a real airline, we are the best airline."
With such a strong public shaming,
who would have ever thought that these two carriers could repair their relationship?
Well, years have passed since the "feud" between the United States and the Gulf carriers
and tensions have certainly dissipated and olive
branches extended in the name of mutually beneficial relationships..
In 2020, American Airlines announced a codeshare agreement with fellow oneworld
member Qatar Airways. Since then, both airlines have enhanced their partnership.
American also launched a flight to Doha in June of this year from its hub at the John
F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
The September 15th announcement by United Airlines and Emirates
is very significant, even if it’s limited.
In fact, the current codeshare deal will only cover Emirates' services to Chicago,
Houston, and San Francisco. For Emirates flight codes on United services, the agreement
only applies to flights from Newark to Dubai, which will launch in March next year. However,
the fact that any partnership was announced at all between the two airlines is a major deal,
considering the tensions that existed just a few years ago.
At the event, Sir Tim Clark said,
"Can you imagine this? There was a time - and we all know this - that it was difficult."
The new airline partnership will give Emirates customers greater access to the United
States via United's 200+ destinations.
United customers will also receive expanded access to Emirates' network in Africa and India.
At the event, Scott Kirby noted that United Airlines is now
the #1 US airline flying across the Atlantic. In a statement, Kirby said:
"I'm now proud to say that after decades of being third, fourth, or fifth place across the Atlantic,
United Airlines is now the number one airline flying across the Atlantic. A position,
by the way, that will never change, because we've got more growth ahead and partnerships like this,
enable that kind of growth for us at United."
The United chief also went on to praise Sir Tim Clark and the Emirates brand, saying,
"It's remarkable what Sir Tim and team have accomplished and what they have built.
And so putting two great brands together is really what this is all about.”
After finishing his remarks, Kirby invited Sir Clark onto the stage to give some remarks.
Clark began talking about how both airlines had done a fantastic job of managing
operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and the similarities in the DNAs of the two carriers.
He went on to say that no one could have imagined what was taking place
as he was speaking on a stage with Scott Kirby, flight crews from both United and Emirates,
and two Boeing 777 aircraft as the background for the scene.
"But you know, we kind of look forward, we don't look backwards. We've got the makings of the
beginnings, and I call this the acorn, that is planted and from which the mighty oak will grow.
But it's not going to take 200 years for the oak to get there.
We've got to get this done as quickly as possible. And you know, we've got the minds to do it."
Emirates and United Airlines are "big players" in the regions they serve. United serves more than
200 destinations, and Emirates serves another 200+, along with its sister carrier, FlyDubai.
Highlighting this, Sir Tim Clark said:
"So taken together with us, we'll eventually reach over 400 destinations that the two carriers,
Emirates and FlyDubai, can meet with United. And I say this to all of you, this will defy
the laws of physics when it comes to moving people across the planet. It has to be one of
the most seismic things that is going to happen at this particular time and going forward as well."
Clark finished his remarks by once again highlighting the significance
of the partnership considering the rocky past, even throwing it a bit of humor,
"It is just lovely to see the smiling faces of everybody, because seven years ago,
you'd be throwing tomatoes at me. And I'm not that bad, actually.
But anyway, it's great to see and from what I can gather the enthusiasm of everybody in this room,
this hangar, and in both companies, we are already ready to rock and roll on this one."
Starting small and seeing how things go would seem to be a wise move.
Moving forward, there will be ample room for expanding a partnership between these
two giants on both sides of the world. Not only do both carriers have growing networks,
but the codeshare agreement currently applies to just three of Emirates' US destinations.
Surely, this could expand to more cities in the future, if all goes well.
This partnership would appear to be a wise move, considering the competition on both sides.
United is constantly competing with American and Delta
while Emirates is up against Qatar Airways and fellow UAE airline Etihad.
At the same time - some in the industry suspect
that this partnership is a teaser for an even more significant move.
In fact, some believe that Emirates is positioning itself to join the Star Alliance,
having also recently announced a codeshare partnership with Air Canada.
This would indeed be earth-shattering in the world
of aviation considering the massive reach of the Dubai-based airline.
This move would also be quite shocking considering the fact that Emirates has remainted outside of
airline alliances since its inception - instead opting for direct partnerships with airlines.
At present, Emirates’ website lists partnerships with about a dozen airlines, including Air
Mauritius, Bangkok Airways, easyJet, GOL, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and Qantas.
Considering Emirates’ newly inked codeshares with United and Air Canada,
you can see that the airline’s neutral position has allowed it to partner with
airlines from all three major alliances: the Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld.
Interestingly, the airline’s Skyward partnership with jetBlue is set to end on October 30th, 2022.
Having been partners since 2012, the quote-unquote ‘break-up’ makes
complete sense in retrospect, with Emirates’ forming closer ties with United Airlines.
There’s a lot that we could try to predict,
but ultimately only time will tell what the two airlines decide next.
What do you think about the new agreement between United and Emirates? Do you believe
that Emirates will eventually be joining Star Alliance? Let us know in the comments below.