Emirates airline said that Arabian Gulf airlines were not to blame for overcapacity on services between the United States and Dubai, rejecting criticism by US carrier Delta Air Lines.
Delta said on Sunday that it had reduced flights between Atlanta and Dubai this winter, blaming overcapacity on US routes to the Middle East by state-owned airlines, underscoring a trade row.
Delta’s attempt to pin the blame on Gulf carriers is “plainly a political play, or a thin excuse to prop up fares at a higher level by limiting capacity”, an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement.
The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, a US airline-union group including Delta, alleges Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways received $42 billion in subsidies from their governments in the past decade. They say this allowed the Gulf airlines to start dumping capacity into the US, driving down prices and pushing out competitors.
Gulf carriers deny they are subsidised and say poor customer service has caused US airlines to lose market share.
Emirates, citing US Transportation Department data, said average seat loads during 2013-2014 on the Atlanta-Dubai route had been consistently above 85 per cent, showing consumer demand or overcapacity was not the issue.
A Partnership spokeswoman, however, said full planes do not necessarily indicate a route’s profitability because airlines discount seats and let frequent fliers travel free.
Delta is the only airline offering direct flights between Atlanta and Dubai. It will reduce that service to four or five times a week from October 1 instead of daily. That will leave rival United Continental’s Washington-Dubai service as the only daily non-stop flight between the US and Dubai on a US carrier.
Emirates flies to nine US cities and said its average seat loads on these services was above 80 per cent.
The accusations of government subsidies are part of a campaign by the US airlines to persuade the Obama administration to start talks on Open Skies treaties with the Gulf countries. This is currently under review.
Gulf airlines have said it would be protectionist of the US government to tighten trade policies that have in the past benefited US airlines in the absence of large rivals.
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
More on animal trafficking
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 2.5/5
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
