December 6, 2017
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrea Christianson; achristianson@hamiltonps.com; (202) 617-3888

New Poll Shows Strong Support For Upholding Open Skies Agreements

Respondents say legacy carriers should go through DOT process before lobbying on Open Skies agreements with U.A.E. and Qatar

Washington D.C. – Today, the U.S. Airlines for Open Skies Coalition released the results of a new poll showing strong support for upholding the current U.S. Open Skies regime. Based on a poll of 2,200 U.S. adults conducted by Morning Consult, more respondents had favorable views of Open Skies agreements and think the government should maintain its current Open Skies policy. Seventy percent of respondents said protecting travelers, workers, and exporters from unfair policies was more important than protecting billion-dollar U.S. corporations from foreign competition.

“This poll shows the legacy carriers cannot pull the wool over the eyes of Americans when it comes to the benefits of Open Skies agreements,” said Andrea Christianson, spokesperson for U.S. Airlines for Opens Skies. “Congress established a process to address subsidy concerns within the Department of Transportation, and it’s good to see Americans agree the legacy carriers should use this process before spending millions of dollars lobbying the President and Congress to protect them from competition. Delta, United, and American airlines should welcome the opportunity to have their claims independently reviewed by the appropriate body.”

Highlights from the survey include:

  • Given a description of the benefits of Open Skies agreements, more Americans express a favorable view than unfavorable (37 percent vs. 10 percent)
  • More Americans say the government should maintain its current Open Skies policy (44 percent vs. 13 percent)
  • Nearly half of Americans (46 percent) say that Delta, United, and American should go through the DOT process first, compared to 14 percent who say they should lobby the Trump administration first to address their concerns about U.A.E. and Qatar airline subsidies
  • Two in three Americans say improving airplanes and services is a better use of $3 million in expenditures by Delta, United, and American, compared to 13 percent saying lobbying for policy changes is a better use of the money
  • When asked what is more important, 70 percent of respondents said protecting travelers, workers, and exporters from unfair policies, compared to 11 percent who said protecting billion dollar U.S. corporations from foreign competition was more important

The Morning Consult poll of 2,200 U.S. adults was conducted between December 1 and 4, 2017 with a margin of error of +/- 2 percent.

U.S. Airlines for Open Skies (USAOS) is a coalition of four U.S. passenger and cargo carriers – Atlas Air Worldwide, FedEx, Hawaiian Airlines, and JetBlue Airways – in support of the United States’ Open Skies agreements, which promote U.S. jobs and economic growth.