The US’ State Department is expected to hold informal talks with representatives from the UAE and Qatar this week prior to holding formal discussions in July. The July talks will deal with a potential resolution in the ongoing Open Skies dispute initiated by the US’ Big Three – Delta, American and United.

A meeting between US State Department officials and representatives from the Big Three was held on 24 June, according to a Bloomberg report citing confidential sources.

Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar al-Baker said in January that he expects the US government to rule in favour of the Gulf airlines. "The US government is starting to realise the case was a total waste of time and money because the Big Three’s lawyers are trying to prove a losing case,” Al-Baker said.

The latest development, however, seems to indicate the US government is approaching the case using a middle-ground approach. “They are saying we’ll have informal talks and see how it goes,” said Paul Mifsud, former vice-president of government and legal affairs for the KLM unit of Air France-KLM Group d.

The US Transport Department has been reviewing the counter arguments of Dubai-based Emirates airline, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways in response to allegations made by the Big Three in early 2015 that the Gulf airlines have received some $42bn in subsidies from their home governments over a 10-year period.

Such unfair subsidies violate the bilateral Open Skies agreements between the US government, Qatar and the UAE, according to the Big Three. They say such violation warrants a review of the existing agreements and an investigation of the Gulf airlines’ conduct of business, with a view to limiting future expansion of the airlines into key US cities.