Gulf companies

For several days, the rumour circulated among air transport specialists that Etihad Airways and Emirates were considering merging their operations. In early March, the German business daily Handelsblatt reported that the ruling families of Dubai and Abu Dhabi had met and discussed a possible merger between the carriers. This rumour was immediately denied with...

Since July, Paris is the fifth destination to welcome an Etihad A380 after London, Melbourne, New York and Sydney. The introduction of the A380 on the Abu Dhabi-Paris route will make it possible to offer a seamless end-to-end product between France and Australia, for example. Above all, it will introduce new products...

Business travellers can gradually return to their normal routines. And airlines are regaining a little peace of mind... Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines are no longer affected by the electronics ban imposed by the US authorities on 21 March. In practical terms, this means that business travellers leaving for the United States can now take their...

The summer period is often very quiet, sometimes too quiet. Fortunately, Qatar Airways is no slouch when it comes to news: a few days after its bid to acquire a stake in American Airlines, and against a backdrop of turbulent diplomatic relations with its Gulf neighbours, the Doha-based carrier is making its presence felt this week on the French market...

Qatar Airways has been banned not only from serving Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, but also from overflying their airspace. As a result, flights to the west of Doha are now problematic. The ban on overflying these countries is forcing the airline to...

Here's a press release that's likely to cause quite a stir. In seven terse lines, sent to the media on Thursday afternoon, Qatar Airways unveils its capital-intensive ambitions targeting American Airlines. The Doha-based airline says it "sees a strong investment opportunity in American Airlines". The press release continues: "Qatar Airways believes in the fundamentals of American Airlines and...

Have the Gulf companies taken notice of the latest ICCA rankings, which crowned Paris as the world's meetings capital? The fact remains that the French capital is attracting increased attention. A few days after the announcement by Emirates that it is to install a two-class A380 at Roissy and thus increase its capacity, it is Etihad's turn to announce new ambitions. The...

The decision was taken at the end of last week. Emirates, the largest carrier in the Gulf, is to reduce its capacity to the United States significantly. Five routes will be affected by capacity reductions. In an announcement published last Wednesday, the airline said it was reducing the number of flights from the month of...

As expected, Qatar Airways was quick to react to the measures imposed by the American authorities, summarised as an "electronics ban". It took only a week for the airline's management to come up with a solution that would enable it to keep its business customers while prohibiting them from boarding with their computers...