Did you guys see this, posted in Hanger Talk, from the article about Middle East carriers and open skies:

"It is not immediately clear why the meeting was put off, but sources tell Flightglobal that the airlines' decision was linked to ongoing US-led airstrikes against extremist group Islamic State (ISIS). The USA is being aided in its military operations by several Middle Eastern nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which own the fast-growing Gulf carriers that the three US airlines have voiced concerns about.

Delta, American and United all decline to comment on the meeting when contacted by Flightglobal. A DOT spokesperson refers follow-up questions to Delta, identifying the Atlanta-based carrier as the airline which set up the meeting."

The Gulf carriers - specifically Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad - have drawn the increased ire of the US and European airline industry in recent years, as they have rapidly expanded their networks and ordered hundreds of new widebody aircraft. Delta's chief executive Richard Anderson, in particular, has been especially vocal.

"A number of those [Middle Eastern] carriers are not airlines, they're governments," he said at the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) convention in Los Angeles in July, adding that the Middle Eastern carriers have "huge subsidies and huge structural advantages".

Sounds to me that in addition to the Im-Ex Bank/Boeing thing, we aren't going to go after them now, due to their 'support' of eliminating ISIS?