I believe the issue that ALPA are pushing is not about the (assumed, but unverifiable) subsidies paid to the Gulf 3 by their owner states, but the subsidies which they obtain from the US exchequer in the form of Export Credit Guarantees paid via the US Exim Bank. These are seen by ALPA as effectively being a subsidy from the US taxpayer to airlines who are now in direct competition with their own US carriers.
Not picking on you, but that is exactly the type of incorrect information about the EX/IM bank that makes the rounds. The U.S. majors and ALPA are calling it a "subsidy".
The Ex/Im bank supplies loans to foreign companies in order to purchase American products. It was/is set-up to benefit American manufacturing. While it's true that a significant percentage of that goes to Boeing, that is because Boeing is one of the big American manufacturer's that exports their products. This financing can help Boeing win orders over Airbus products. That results in jobs for Americans. Tens of thousands of good high paying union jobs at that. Not just at Boeing either. Think of the whole supplier chain to include GE, Honeywell, Spirit Aerosystems, Goodyear, Rockwell Collins, etc, etc.
What is quite ironic when ALPA, a union, goes off on this rant is that they are indirectly trying to hurt another union or two ( SPEEA and IAM come to mind ). When questioned about this their reply is generally along the lines of "we don't care, we're only here to look out for our members". It's that type of narrow minded stupidity that is the downfall of their position on this matter.
Imagine those tens of thousands of SPEEA and IAM workers out of a job. Do they now buy tickets on DAL, UAL, and AA to take their family on vacation? If Boeing's order book goes down substantially do Boeing executives and engineers travel on American carriers as often?
Cause and effect. ALPA just doesn't get it, nor do the CEOs of the major U.S. carriers.
What they should be, and in some cases are doing, is argue for similar help from the U.S. government for loans to buy aircraft from Boeing. That would be a win/win. American manufacturing gets more work and they get aircraft with lower interest payments like their foreign competitors.
Of course, they are getting aircraft with lower prices and lower interest payments from the heavily subsidized competitor called Airbus, but that's another topic.
Last I checked the Ex/Im bank makes a profit from the loans they supply to foreign airlines. So the whole concept of "subsidy" and "subsidy from the U.S. taxpayer" needs to be re-worded.
Typhoonpilot