The market evidently wasn't worth expanding into over the past 15 years and probably not worth expanding into for the next 15 years.

The gutting of salaries, closing bases, socializing pensions over the last 14 years really had more to do with the aftermath of 9/11 and until just recently the lack of a domestic oil production.

Brings up a question. Do the ME3 allow gay flight attendants?

Expand to what market?

Gutting Salaries.... how does ME pay stand up?

Closing bases..... you mean the consolidation that has finally allowed the US carriers to become profitable as an industry, at least temporarily until enough new entrants can destroy the yield on the markets.

Socializing Pensions..... you mean turning over the money and payment of pensions to the PBGC in BK court? How does that compare to the pension offered by ME carriers?

Racing to the bottom by bundling? I assume you're complaining about the increase in FEEs by unbundling the fare with fees in the last decade. That is partly driven by the tax policy that taxes airfare in the US but not fees. Also with the advent of the internet, airlines realize they need their fare to be near the lowest possible because many people just go with the cheapest, then the fees add on revenue that would have otherwise been written into the fares.

Yes we defend them because we don't want the US airline industry to go the way of the US maritime industry.

There is the key to getting this to pass. I've said all along that there is no way they will get a TA to pass unless they come up with another "fleeting opportunity". Hopefully we won't fall for that trick again.

EK and the rest have traditionally made all their money shuttling around Gulf workers. The vast majority of their flights are to the home countries of these people. As far as the U.S. and Canada, EK has really created a South Asian feed where one had never existed before. Of the dozens of flights that I have taken from the U.S. on the ME3, almost every passenger is South Asian. I would guess that the L.A. flights feed Persians back to Iran. These airlines are capitalizing on the desires of our immigrant citizens to see family.

BTW, if anyone is being subsidized in Dubai, it would be EK subsidizing the local government, not the other way around. Just my 2cents.

Expand to what market? You do know that there are a couple of billion people in Asia, and not just in the Far East.

EK does offer a pension scheme, how it works I don't remember.

"yes"

"but buying the RedBull isn't something you should have to do"

"we're pilots, we always say yes".

Bingo on the comment about EK subsidizing the government. The airline just paid a dividend of 710 million dollars to Dubai. Last year I believe it was around 500 million.

Also a while back I read somewhere that between operations, buying fuel, housing for crew, salaries etc. EK accounts for 25% of the GDP of Dubai.

Billions for the shareholders and 6,0,1,1 after inflation for the pilots.

I don't know how Ed will be able to sleep.

Simply ignoring the survey and reducing profit sharing (if the 5.75% reduction is true) is grounds to recall all yes voters.

Captain Mike Donatelli MEC Chairman "You have told us you want to retain profit sharing."

It doesn't get much simplier than that.