DL adopts Saudi "No-Jew" Policy

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

I have a feeling this whole experience will serve to put a giant CHILL on any thoughts DL MIGHT have had about developing further commercial relationships with SV - and make EVERY US airline think twice about its alliances in that part of the region.... but AA's much deeper relationship with Royal Jordanian shows that not all airlines or countries in the middle east are judged in the same light.

Does Jordan have the same entry visa policy as Saudi Arabia? If not your jab at AA is pretty childish / amateur.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Does Jordan have the same entry visa policy as Saudi Arabia? If not your jab at AA is pretty childish / amateur.

there is no jab at all... it is simply noting that other countries in the middle east have different policies and are thus able to develop different types of relationsihps.

 

[signals]

The comments about "shunning" Saudi reminds me how hard it was for South African Airways because of national policy. Apartheid didn't stop airlines like BA from flying to JNB, but there certainly was a growing stigma attached to companies doing business there prior to 1990. SAA was banned outright from flying to the US and Australia, and few countries would allow them to overfly their airspace. There was also the partial economic embargo from the Reagan era (the Republican led Senate overrode his veto) they were banned from flying to the US, but apparently working with Boeing was OK....

Had de Klerk not started the moves to abolishing apartheid, SAA would have never been able to grow to the stature they are today, or partner with AA and Delta during the 1990's when they were allowed to start flying to the US again. Just as questionable is whether or not they could have been admitted into Star Alliance?..

-----

So... a question to ponder...

I seriously doubt anyone in Congress will be moved to try stand up to Saudi Arabia because of oil, sadly, but in all the debate over whether or not DL is in the wrong, I still think there's an underlying issue being ignored. There's no such thing as freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia.

Are there ethical lines that shouldn't be crossed when creating cross-border business partnerships? Isn't freedom of religion one of those?

To be clear -- I'm not intersted in anyone continuing to bash DL or any other airline.... just more interested in getting some opinions....

We and other countries openly shunned South Africa's abhorrent government policies to the extent that they were ultimately reversed. With religious freedom being one of the main reasons this country was first settled, and a core principle in our Constitution, should we not also be standing a little firmer for something the Founding Fathers believed in?...

Freedom? Your confusing SA with USA. Why should we not do business because we don't like the way a country operates? Freedom at one time was what made our country unique. Now we feel that everyone on earth should have it.

The opposite of doing business is boycotting. The ever growing Muslim population proved that it can hurt your product.

 

[Kev3188]

Are there ethical lines that shouldn't be crossed when creating cross-border business partnerships? Isn't freedom of religion one of those?

I think you could paint that picture under the broad brush of human rights.

DL is quite good at espousing one theory while having an entirely different one in use. We have the furor over interlining w/SV, but we're also quite close with China Eastern. Furthermore, all week long, we've been touting LGBT rights on our internal website. Meanwhile, very quietly there was an announcement of a codeshare with Air Nigeria. Nigeria being another shining beacon of human rights, where among other things, LGBT people are often stoned to death, or summarily executed.

1. Although Saudi Arabia consistenly ranks among the worst countries in the world regarding human rights, there is no line below which you can say a country just doesn't cut it...

Maybe there should be...

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

Does Jordan have the same entry visa policy as Saudi Arabia? If not your jab at AA is pretty childish / amateur.

Jordan has a peace treaty and diplomatic relations with Israel; there is TLV-AMM air service. Many Arab countries officially deny entry to those with Israeli passport stamp, enforcement varies. This is nothing new.

 

[dapoes]

About time!

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/270620/rns-retracts-story-delta-and-saudi-arabia-brian-bolduc

RNS Retracts Story on Delta and Saudi Arabia
June 27, 2011 6:04 PM
By Brian Bolduc
The Religious News Service, which first reported the repercussions of Delta Air Lines’s new relationship with Saudi Arabian Airlines, has retracted its original story

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller/an-analysis-of-the-delta-_b_885762.html

FROM RABBI JASON MILLER
After writing about the news that Delta Airlines was supporting Saudi Arabian Airlines' partnership in the SkyTeam Alliance, I have been flooded with emails -- both in support of what I wrote and criticizing me for starting a false rumor.....

.....Delta did not adopt Saudi Arabia's policy and Delta does not discriminate. In my article, I clearly stated that Delta does not discriminate but that my concern was that Delta was supporting membership in the SkyTeam Alliance by an airline run by a discriminatory country.


This article is a good one.


A point that has been largely overlooked is that Saudi Arabia usually does not issue tourist visas to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation.