Qatar Airways threat to quit Oneworld alliance – The National
In another so-called “landmark” press conference with little substance, Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker said that Qatar might leave oneworld if American doesn’t stop pursuing its case with the US government against the 3 big Middle East airlines.
That sounds concerning, but in reality, it’s likely just bluster. If Qatar continues to get financial benefit from being in the alliance, it’s not going anywhere. That’s the same reason why American continues working with Etihad. If there’s money to be made, it doesn’t matter if it sounds hypocritical. Business is business.
United’s Quest to Be Less Awful – Bloomberg BusinessWeek
A good long look at United’s suckiness over the last few years. For those who have been following the industry closely, none of this will be surprising. But it’s still well worth clicking to see the Airplane!-esque headline image. Love it.
American Airlines and LATAM Airlines Group Announce Plans for a Joint Business – American Airlines Newsroom
American is looking to grow its joint business agreements again. This time its with LATAM in South America. The two work together already and provide a formidable presence between the US and Latin America. I’ll be curious to see if this gets challenged by the feds since the two have such a strong position. One thing to note – Argentina is missing from the list of countries covered by the joint business. That’s because Argentina’s government has been horribly protective of its national carrier. Without open skies, a joint venture won’t happen.
5 comments on “3 Links I Love: Qatar Gets Testy, United’s Suckiness, LATAMerican”
Really hope that AA and LATAM do not get consent for a joint venture – their combined market position will be more dominant than is healthy
Do you happen to know why Ecuador is left out of the list even though Latam has a subsidiary there?
Ryan – Same thing as Argentina. No open skies agreement.
“That sounds concerning, but in reality, it’s likely just bluster. If Qatar continues to get financial benefit from being in the alliance, it’s not going anywhere.”
Ironically, AA is claiming that Qatar Airways is NOT a business, and that they are essentially just a government agency that doesn’t need to turn a profit.
If AA is wrong, and Qatar actually thinks like a business, then Qatar will stay in Oneworld.
If AA is right, and Qatar doesn’t care about money, then they might leave Oneworld, just out of spite or for emotional reasons.
Let’s see what happens.
Bloomberg’s graphic artists rarely fail to disappoint in their work on the cover stories, and this is no exception. I love the image of the FA trying to strangle herself with the cord for the oxygen mask, plus the Office Space reference.
And the merged airline’s system seriously assigned flights to pilots who were retired and/or dead? Wow.