A legal fight among airlines is brewing between two countries that operate the most air carriers in the world.
Airlines in the United States and China are at odds over whether Chinese carriers should be allowed to operate long-haul routes through Russia’s airspace.
The issue is one of fair competition, according to the U.S. carriers, who have been banned from Russian air space since 2022 in response to the U.S. government placing sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine.
Because U.S. carriers need to route around Russian air space, it makes their China-bound flights up to two or three hours longer, according to the AP. That means more fuel burn and lower profit margins for airlines.
Chinese carriers, on the other hand, are still allowed to fly over Russia on west-bound routes, including those to the U.S. According to U.S. airlines, this gives China-based carriers an unfair advantage in the market. American carriers have officially asked the Department of Transportation to ban Chinese airlines from using Russian airspace on routes to the U.S. Now, six of China’s biggest state-owned carriers are filing their own complaints in response.
In a filing this week to the DOT, China Eastern said that the ban would “harm the public interest” and “inconvenience travelers,” the AP reports. The longer flights would mean higher costs for the airline and more expensive fares for travelers. The carrier estimated that about 4,400 passengers would be affected by the ban, which could take place over the Thanksgiving and Christmas travel periods.
But for its part, the DOT says that the shorter route over Russia is an unfair competitive advantage. “Being able to use the most efficient route provides a competitive advantage because it usually results in the shortest flight time duration, thereby offering a more appealing option to travelers,” the DOT said, according to AP.
The DOT has been trying to assess any unfair advantages international airlines might have over American carriers. Earlier this year, the department forced Aeromexico and Delta to dissolve a joint venture agreement due to rules that were limiting competition at Mexico City’s airports, according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
In the situation with the Chinese airlines, the DOT says it will accept public comments before deciding on a final ruling.
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