US airlines face uphill struggle against Mid-East rivals

New York

FOR the past year, the US's three largest airlines - Delta, United and American - have waged a relentless campaign to convince the Obama administration that their business is threatened by Persian Gulf-based carriers that receive billions of dollars in state subsidies.

The airlines have pressed the administration to freeze all new flights from their three foreign rivals - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways - and would ultimately like to change the pacts, known as open skies agreements, that allow unlimited flights between the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.