American ditches codeshares with Qatar and Etihad
American Airlines is ditching codeshare agreements with Gulf carriers Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.
AA has decided to cut ties with the carriers over its opposition to unfair government subsidies it claims Etihad, Qatar Air and Emirates receive.
The Gulf airlines were informed on June 29 that codesharing will end on the expiration of current agreements in March 2018.
The airline said it ‘has no material financial impact on American’.
American called it ‘an extension of our stance against the illegal subsidies that these carriers receive from their governments’.
"We are committed to doing everything we can to continue to support our team members and ensure that there is fair competition between American and the Gulf carriers," an AA statement said.
"We have reached the conclusion that the codesharing relationships between American and these carriers no longer make sense for us."
Etihad said American’s decision is hypocritical and will only impact consumer choice.
"We view the decision by American Airlines as being anti-competitive and anti-consumer. This action will reduce choices for consumers and may result in higher fares for travellers to and from the United States."
The move comes amid a separate row between American and Qatar Airways after Qatar’s CEO Akbar Al Baker said rival US carriers are ‘crap’ and passengers travelling on them are ‘always served by grandmothers’.
He was speaking at a gala ball at the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin to celebrate the launch of a new route between the Irish city and Doha last week.
American Airlines said the remarks were ‘incredibly offensive’ and ‘both sexist and ageist at the same time’.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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