Airlines Settle Long-Running Competition Dispute, Aided by Edgeworth Industry Study

In June 2015, Edgeworth Chief Executive Officer Dr. John H. Johnson and Partner Michael Kheyfets completed an analysis on behalf of Etihad Airways. The Edgeworth study responded to a report, jointly written by the three largest US airline carriers, that claimed United Arab Emirates airlines had violated the Open Skies agreement between the US and the UAE governments.

Edgeworth’s analysis demonstrated that services introduced by Etihad increased competition and consumer choice in the air travel from the US to the Indian Subcontinent and that the number of passengers traveling on these routes grew significantly in the five years preceding the study. The Edgeworth analysis also showed that in some instances, the US carriers’ losses in share of passengers were more than offset by the increase in their total number of passengers traveling on those routes.

In May 2018, the US and UAE governments issued a Record of Discussion resolving the dispute and reaffirming their respective commitments to the Air Transportation Agreement.

The analysis has been reported on by numerous outlets worldwide, including Forbes and Air Transit World.

Read the media release from Etihad.