Let`s hope Canada , and the remaining members of ICAO do not forget these diplomatic swipes anytime too soon . The UAE think that because they spend billions of $ on aircraft in the USA (with Boeing) and in Europe (with Airbus) , that they can do whatever they want in the marketplace . Any and all resistance to Emirates`/ Etihad`s plans in the future will thus be met in a similiar fashion. They have shown their cards , and have thus admitted that denial and humiliation are unacceptable and domination of the industry is the goal . No wonder they haven`t joined Star , One World or Skyteam. They don`t need them , nor are they team players.
The fare paying public are too narrow minded and short sighted to see the long term implications here. Remember how a decade`s worth of cheap imports into the USA from China had a helping hand in the outsourcing of manufacturing and the demise of GDP in the West ? The USA and Europe are about to commit the same mistake with aviation. Strike 3 and you are out. Time to say NO to the UAE. Does anyone else see this ????