In October Qatar Airways threatened to leave the oneworld alliance, a threat that their CEO Akbar al-Baker has repeated several times.
- Qantas has tried to get the Australian government to limit their flights, and in response to Qatar’s talk of leaving oneworld the CEO of Qantas Alan Joyce has suggested they go ‘if they’re not happy.’
- After a three year political battle with oneworld partner American Airlines — which rebuffed the Doha-based airline’s offer to purchase a stake in the U.S. carrier and ended its codeshare — American’s CEO Doug Parker is again looking for government to protect it from competition against Air Italy which is 49% owned by Qatar Airways
Now Qatar is indicating they’ll announce a decision in a month or two. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker was asked about his plans to stay or leave oneworld and One Mile at a Time shares his answer,
About oneworld, it was not a rumor, you heard it from me. And we have given them a breathing space to get their act together. You see when you invite somebody, you invite me, to your house, and then you tell me that I can not drink the water from the glass I have to drink from the tap, and then you tell me that we will not give you any food, we will only give you bread and water. This is not why you invited me to your house. You invited me to your house as your guest, and as somebody that you respect.
Qatar Airways is not a Mickey Mouse airline. We are the largest ASK contributor to the oneworld if you add all our investments. And if you remove those investments, we are the second largest ASK contributor to the oneworld. And if we leave oneworld we will create a big hole for them in their entire connectivity.
We are not going to be bullied by some individual who thinks that the world belongs to them. The world belongs to the world community. And we as an airline, we will demand respect, and we will not submit to anybody that is trying to bully us.
We in the matter of a month or two will give you the news if we are going to stay or we are going to withdraw. And I think it is the latter that will happen. Since the people that invited us are now constantly targeting us and our growth.
It’s understandable why they would be offended by Qantas and American Airlines, but Akbar al-Baker is usually more bluster than substance so it’s hard to know when his threats are real.
Credit: Qatar Airways
The Doha-based airline provides strong feed into India and Pakistan for those oneworld partners smart enough to benefit from it. And they frequently offer great value business class fares with the world’s best business class product (Qsuites). It would be a tremendous loss for oneworld if they left, and an even bigger loss for American AAdvantage where Qatar Airways redemptions are one of the best options in the program.
Leave already. Who really cares. Eithad is failing, Emirates and Qater are not businesses but a place for their respective governments to spend money and show off. If we become less oil dependent in the next decade (which is happening. . .electric car anyone), then these 3 so called airlines will have to stand on their own and trust me, they won’t be offering showers and suites much longer.
I hope not. I’m in the process of banking about 200k AA miles in hopes of QSuites next April. If they leave before I can book (which is likely), what’s my next best option to DEL and/or back from CAI with AA miles?
What’s happening to AA and its frequent flyer program is remarkable.
This is the stuff business students will study. Who is writing the textbook?
AAdvantage is a hugely valuable piece of AA’s business.
And AA seems hell bent on gutting the airline and the program as fast as possible.
– bailing on NYC
– PHL as trans Atlantic hub
– the AA-forced divorce from Alaska Airlines (reciprocal elite benefits, interlining, reciprocal earning)
– the “we won’t interline” fiasco
– the absurd award rules (married segment, etc.)
– reduced award availability
– cutting nose (divorcing from India’s Jet Air) to spite face (“foreign airlines are bad”)
– reducing the quality and quantity of product available for elites
The list goes on.
It’s unbelievable.
And as a former AA Exec Plat it’s awesome to watch. Burn baby, burn.
@Ex UA-Plat: Don’t disagree with a thing you’ve said, but I am curious…
Your “handle” clearly suggests that, at some point in the past, you held Platinum status w/United, and in your post above, you state, “as a former AA Exec Plat…” — so, who do you fly with now, and where do you have elite status?
Whatever the toad-like creature from Qantas says, it’s never in the interests of consumers/travelers but rather always to the advantage of shareholders. On the other hand, Qatar has been great : vastly superior product ( not just relative to QF but even more so measured against the sub-standard US carriers) and network.
The whining, moaning , gloom and doom chorus from the likes of AA and QF rings very hollow with me.
Whatever, with the 777x and 350-1000ULR the ME3’s power of geographic connections between continents will slow down. Qatar would be stupid to leave OW with all the economic restrictions on their country.
Will Qatar honor tickets purchased with AA miles for July ?
Round the world trip !
This leg from Singapore to Frankfurt.
Thanks, Jon B
So the past few weeks I have tried to book partner awards using my worthless QR points. Both on UL. One flight 103 days out for a 1 hour flight from CMB to TRV. The other 75 days out for a UL flight, CMB to DEL.
And both times, QR come back to me telling me there is no availability.
Both times I then went to QF and tried, as they are a One World partner and both times I got the flights.
So QR are behaving like lying, thieving bastards again. They will leave One World, and they will do it overnight. Without warning. It will be effective immediately. We know they will because they are blocking customers from booking partner awards. They are defrauding us.
I wish I could use my worthless half million points now but I have no need. I can’t wait to be rid of these mongrels from QR.
The bastards did the same thing when they devalued their FF program overnight on May 27 last year. Without warning. Without notice. Double points for Award flights. Almost impossible to get an award. Massive taxes and fees surcharges, even for the top-tier customers and then the bastards had the audacity to call the devaluation, the theft, they called it damn enhancements.
I’m sick to death of these crooks. They make crooked Hilary look like kindergarten. I don’t trust them. I can’t stand their tactics and their lies and their theft.
I don’t know what I was thinking when I thought I could trust anyone or any business from the Middle East. The writing should have been on the wall when even their own GCC neighbors in Egypt, UAE, Yemen, Bahrain blockaded these bastards. Even their own kind can’t stand them. And now this.
Oh, and by the way, for the CMB-TRV flight, 1 hour duration QR wanted 12500 miles and almost $196USD in fees and charges. I got the same thing on QF for 8000 points and $17.60 USD in extras. And I was able to book it and pay for it online. And I’m a Plat with QR and a nothing with QF.
With the thieving bastards from QR you must wait 2 days. And then they tell you you can’t have a flight because of lack of availability.
Thieving bastards and liars.
Jason,
Former UA Plat (due to being a hub captive and regular flights on routes that UA/*A served best), former AA Exec Plat (due to a move and change in travel pattern).
I’m currently based in SEA where I’m an Alaska 75K and Delta Diamond. AS works nicely up & down the west coast. DL works nicely across the country and up & down the east coast.
“And they frequently offer great value business class fares with the world’s best business class product (Qsuites). It would be a tremendous loss for oneworld if they left, and an even bigger loss for American AAdvantage where Qatar Airways redemptions are one of the best options in the program.”
It would clearly be a loss to YOU if they left oneworld and the AAdvantage program. But would it be a loss to AA? I guess that depends on how AA is compensated for AAdvantage customers who use their miles on Qatar. I’m pretty sure that the number of people who actually fly AA so they can use their miles on Qatar could fit into a small auditorium. Probably 99% of Americans couldn’t tell you what “Qatar” is, much less that they have an eponymously named airline.