American Airlines ends codeshare deals with Qatar, Etihad
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Jul 14, 2017
This is a time of strong rivalry between our airline and the USA carriers, and we are of course immensely proud of our own cabin crew.
"The codesharing relationships between American and these carriers no longer make sense to us", the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said.
In a statement Wednesday, the US carrier said the agreements "no longer make sense" given its "extremely strong public stance" against Qatar Airways, Etihad, and Dubai's Emirates.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker has issued a statement apologising for his recent remarks which compared Qatar Airways cabin crew with cabin crew on USA carriers.
A Qatar Airways A350 press conference with Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker at center.
American notified Qatar and Etihad of the decision on June 29, spokesman Joshua Freed said.
An interline relationship between Etihad and American, which allows customers from two airlines to buy connecting flights on one ticket, would remain in place to connect passengers to secondary markets, an Etihad spokeswoman said.
American said on Wednesday that cancelling code-sharing agreements with Qatar Airways and Etihad would not have a material financial impact for the USA carrier. "This action will reduce choices for consumers and may result in higher fares for travellers to and from the United States", the statement read.
Etihad Airways apparently has become a victim of the continuing conflict between American Airlines Group Inc.
Etihad said that it is "disappointed with the decision".
Al Baker past year was asked about complaints by US airline chiefs - Delta's Richard Anderson among them - that carriers from the Persian Gulf region use government subsidies to unfairly fuel growth.
American Airlines has announced plans to end its code-sharing agreements with Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, reports said.
American Airlines has led calls from United States carriers for talks on whether government subsidies have enabled the three biggest Persian Gulf operators - Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates - to become global players.
"Etihad Airways and numerous leading consumer and business groups in the United States have categorically rejected the allegations of American and the two other dominant USA carriers regarding violations of the relevant air transportation agreements".
