An Etihad Airways plane prepares to land at Abu Dhabi airport. Three of the main Gulf airlines are engaged in a dispute with US airlines over competition. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
An Etihad Airways plane prepares to land at Abu Dhabi airport. Three of the main Gulf airlines are engaged in a dispute with US airlines over competition. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
An Etihad Airways plane prepares to land at Abu Dhabi airport. Three of the main Gulf airlines are engaged in a dispute with US airlines over competition. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
An Etihad Airways plane prepares to land at Abu Dhabi airport. Three of the main Gulf airlines are engaged in a dispute with US airlines over competition. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

US is waking up to open skies


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  • Arabic

“Our competitors can’t match it,” said Richard Anderson, CEO of the US airline Delta, talking about the airline’s performance so far this year. Delta has just posted a record profit of US$1.4 billion (Dh5.14bn) for the third quarter of this year.

American consumers might point out that the reason Delta’s competitors can’t match them is because the airline has very few genuine competitors. This has been the prime reason for the long-running dispute between three of the United States’ largest airlines – Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines – and the three largest Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. The US companies simply fear the competition and want to limit the ability of Americans to choose which airline they use.

Even America’s government agrees – or at least, for now, a part of it. The justice department this week sided with the Gulf carriers, pointing out that the demands by the US airlines that the government legally stifle the free market would lead to higher fares and fewer choices for consumers. For now, the department’s views are not being officially taken into consideration. The Obama administration has tasked three other departments with making policy recommendations on this issue.

But the involvement of the department, which also investigates anti-competitive behaviour in other industries, will be a powerful signal that the demands by the US airlines are fundamentally indefensible. The reason why so many people want to fly Etihad, Emirates and Qatar is because, simply put, the experience is better. Forcing consumers to stick with old airlines and an outdated experience goes against the spirit of open skies – and, as others have pointed out, against the spirit of American capitalism.

In a new commercial for Emirates, Jennifer Aniston, dreaming that she is on a regular American airline, suddenly wakes up on an A380, a plane with superior facilities and service. Consumers who have the chance to do so have already made their choice, and it is good that parts of the US government are waking up as well.

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Biography

Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad

Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym

Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army

Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's

The%20specs
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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.

 

There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.

 

More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.

 

The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.

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Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

POWERWASH%20SIMULATOR
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FuturLab%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESquare%20Enix%20Collective%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%2C%3Cstrong%3E%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPlayStation%204%20%26amp%3B%205%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20PC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder

Started: October 2021

Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Industry: technology, logistics

Investors: A15 and self-funded 

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry

Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm

Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

War and the virus
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BABYLON
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