That was just over a year ago at the ITB Berlin world tourism trade fair. At the time, the Chairman of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, voiced his anger to the world's press about the obstructions certain members of the oneworld alliance - in particular the CEOs of American Airlines and Qantas - for their lobbying of their respective governments to block new traffic rights for the Qatari carrier.
It has to be said that for years, Qatar Airways and American Airlines have been constantly at loggerheads over a wide range of issues. Starting in 2017 with the end of a code-sharing agreement following an action brought by American, Delta and United before the US Civil Aviation Authority against subsidies allegedly paid by the Qatari government to its national carrier, which they claimed gave it an unfair competitive advantage. That same year, American opposed the Qatar Airways chairman's plan to acquire a stake in the Texan carrier.
New controversy in 2019 over fire traffic rights Air Italywhich Doug Parker, President of American, described in May 2019 as a Qatar Airways proxy airlineThis was in breach of the 2018 bilateral agreement between the United States and Qatar, which stipulated that Qatar Airways would not serve the United States from destinations other than Doha. US carriers considered that Air Italy's new flights to the US were an attempt to circumvent the agreement.
The hatchet now seems to be buried between Qatar Airways and American Airlines, who have just signed an agreement. extended code-sharing agreement. This partnership will increase commercial cooperation between the two carriers and enhance connectivity opportunities by creating hundreds of new travel options for passengers via hubs in Doha, Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. It also paves the way for the possible arrival of American Airlines in Doha with its own flight.
Akbar Al Baker explained that " we've moved on and we're looking forward to working in close collaboration with American Airlines to build a world-leading partnership for all our customers. This agreement between two ambitious and successful airlines will leverage our complementary strengths and resources and allow more customers to experience the quality of Qatar Airways' award-winning products. "
For American's Chairman and CEO, Doug Parker, the agreement was possible because " the problems that led to the suspension of our partnership two years ago have been resolved, and we believe that the resumption of our code-share agreement will open the door to a new partnership. new opportunities for growth for American Airlines. We look forward to renewed cooperation between our airlines and an even stronger relationship with Qatar Airways over time. "
The codeshare agreement with American Airlines (AA) will enable Qatar Airways passengers to travel on domestic AA flights from Boston (BOS), Dallas (DFW), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK) and Philadelphia (PHL), as well as on American's international flights to and from Europe, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. The two carriers will also work towards the probable arrival of American Airlines in Qatar, probably by 2021.
American Airlines passengers will be able to book travel on all Qatar Airways flights between the United States and Qatar and beyond, to a range of destinations in the Middle East, East Africa, South Asia, the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia.
Following the reactivation of the codeshare, the two airlines will also examine the possibility of American Airlines operating flights between the United States and Qatarand a number of joint commercial and operational initiatives to further strengthen this renewed partnership.
The only element still missing from this agreement is approval of the code-sharing by the US authorities. The Trump administration would appear to be in favour of this, as it once again sees Qatar as a reliable partner in the region. The Americans are even said to be negotiating with their allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over a code-share agreement. end of the air embargo and maritime borders with Qatar, which has been in place since 2017. However, all options remain open due to the fickle foreign policy of the Trump administration...
