Dopo la recente notizia della chiusura di Delta sulla ATL-DXB ora anche United ha deciso di chiudere la IAD-DXB da fine gennaio.
La decisione pare sia stata presa dopo che il Governo degli Stati Uniti ha assegnato un contratto governativo per i viaggi dei dipendenti sulla rotta alla rivale JetBlue ed alla partner Emirates che operera' i voli Washington-Dubai.
Emirates prevede di trasportare circa 15.000 dipendenti statunitensi.
Con questa chiusura nessuna compagnia USA operera' piu' voli diretti per Dubai.
United Airlines to stop flying to Dubai United Airlines on Wednesday said it will cancel flight service between Washington and Dubai starting in late January, meaning no U.S. passenger carrier will fly direct to the Gulf states. The move comes after the U.S. government awarded a government contract for travel on the route in 2016 to rival JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) and its codeshare partner Emirates, which will operate the Washington-Dubai flights, parent United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N) said in an Internet posting. Dubai-based Emirates will carry an estimated 15,000 U.S. government employees, United said, adding, "We formally protested this decision but were ultimately unsuccessful." United, along with Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) and American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O), have accused Emirates and two other Middle Eastern carriers of receiving subsidies from their governments that let them buy more aircraft and drive down ticket prices. The Gulf airlines have denied the allegations. Delta has planned to end all flights between Atlanta and Dubai starting in February 2016. It cited what it claims is "overcapacity" on routes to the region following the expansion of Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, which now serve a dozen U.S. cities with around 200 flights per week. The Obama administration is considering whether to start talks with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to address the subsidy allegations, per the U.S. airlines' requests. United said its customers will still be able to book travel to the region via its partners Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE) and Air Canada (AC.TO).
United to axe Middle Eastern network - begrudgingly
United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) will end all commercial services to the Middle East with effect from late January of next year. In a statement, the carrier said its last remaining route to the region -Washington Dulles-Dubai Int'l - would end on January 23, 2016 as a result of a US General Services Administration (GSA) decision to award a government travel contract for flights between the two cities to jetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) and codeshare partner Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l).
United says it protested the decision but was ultimately unsuccessful.
“It is unfortunate that the GSA awarded this route to an airline that has no service to the Middle East and will rely entirely on a subsidized foreign carrier to transport US government employees, military personnel and contractors,” VP Regulatory and Policy Steve Morrissey said. “We believe this decision violates the intent of the Fly America Act, which expressly limits the US government from procuring commercial airline services directly from a non-US carrier. For the Washington to Dubai route, jetBlue merely serves as a booking agent for Emirates.”
The move will round off United's gradual reduction in services to the Middle East which at one point also included Doha Hamad Int'l, Kuwait, and Bahrain Int'l.
