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By Jeffrey Dastin
Aug 9 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc
Delta, the second-largest U.S. passenger carrier, will fly nonstop to Dubai from its Atlanta hub between four and five times per week starting Oct. 1, down from daily service this summer. The airline revised its schedule on Friday to reflect the change, part of a broader 15-to-20 percent cut in capacity to the Middle East and Africa that Delta announced in April.
"The reduction comes amid overcapacity on U.S. routes to the Middle East operated by government-owned and subsidized airlines," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said in a statement, noting that daily service would return in the spring of 2016.
Delta said months ago that its international capacity cuts were in response to falling crude prices hitting demand in oil-rich markets and to the strong U.S. dollar that has hurt the spending power of foreign travelers.
Yet the latest news underscores a trade row that is rippling through Washington.
Large U.S. unions and airlines, led by Delta, charge that Emirates
The Gulf carriers have denied that they are subsidized and say poor customer service has caused U.S. airlines to lose market share.
Other U.S. carriers such as JetBlue Airways Corp
The Obama administration is currently reviewing the issue.
Delta is the only airline that flies between Atlanta and Dubai. Its service reduction will leave the Washington-Dubai flights on rival United Continental Holdings Inc
Emirates operates a freighter service to Atlanta and currently flies passengers to nine U.S. cities from Dubai, with plans to add more. Qatar Airways will launch Atlanta-Doha flights in July 2016.
(Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Gareth Jones) ((Jeffrey.Dastin@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 5844;))
Keywords: AIRLINES COMPETITION/DELTA