Delta Air Lines announced on Thursday that it would begin nonstop flights to Mumbai, India, in 2019, a result of an agreement between the Trump administration and the United Arab Emirates to address a feud between U.S. and Persian Gulf airlines.
Airlines have alleged that two state-owned carriers — Emirates airline and Etihad Airways — received billions of dollars in private subsidies from the Emirati government, creating an unfair competitive marketplace.
Under an agreement announced earlier this month between, both Emirates and Etihad will publish financial statements that meet international accounting standards. The U.S. struck a similar agreement this year with Qatar and state-owned Qatar Airways.
The two Persian Gulf airlines also said in a note outside of the formal agreement that it would end services from the U.S. to other countries that don’t land in the UAE, often referred to as “Fifth Freedom flights.” The State Department and National Trade Council director Peter Navarro have reportedly clashed over the interpretation of that commitment. Navarro touted the deal as a “big win for American workers and businesses.”
As a result of the agreement with the UAE, Delta announced that in 2019 it would launch a nonstop flight from the U.S. to Mumbai. The airline said it was “was forced to exit the market after subsidized state-owned airlines made service economically unviable.”
“We are thankful to the president for taking real action to enforce our Open Skies trade deals, which made this new service possible,” Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said.
The company said the route is subject to government approval and expects to announce full schedule details in 2018.
Delta’s stock was up 1.7 percent from the prior day’s close to $54.31 per share.
