The 3 big US carriers are reeling because their 'race to the bottom' strategy of declining customer service has come back to bite them hard. Now they want more protections internationally, even as they have used deregulation to absorb smaller carriers, increase code shares with European carriers, and replace real airplanes with 'regional jets' on longer and longer routes domestically.
OTOH, the Gulf carriers are rife with direct government subsidies, so they also have an advantage.
I suspect the 'open skies' theory will be dialed back a bit in the near future...