Qatar Air says it could split Oneworld over American Air row

Qatar Airways said it may seek to form a breakaway group within the Oneworld alliance should fellow member American Airlines continue to lend its weight to a US push to curb the growth of Gulf rivals. Qatar Air, which joined Oneworld in 2013, won’t tolerate a situation where “conditions are no longer conducive to a fair business relationship and mutual respect,” CEO Akbar Al Baker said. “We don’t get bullied by anybody,” he said at a briefing in Los Angeles, where Qatar Air began flights from Doha on Jan. 1. “If American does not want to work fairly with us, we will consult the others and we could form our own mini-alliance if we wanted to.” While Al Baker has said before that Qatar Air could quit Oneworld if its partner continues to seek limits on US access for Gulf operators, he hasn’t previously threatened to split the alliance. American Air, Delta Air and United Continental Holdings all say Qatar, Etihad Airways and Emirates of Dubai have benefited from $42b in illegal aid and want air treaties revised. Al Baker, who maintains that Qatar Air has received no questionable state support, said that US carriers have themselves benefited from a “legal subsidy” in the form of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, while Air France-KLM Group, another opponent, remains partially state owned and Lufthansa has had government money in the past. Oneworld has 15 airline members drawn from 13 companies. A schism could become a major issue for the biggest US carrier should it come involve BA, in which Qatar Air has a 10% stake via the U.K. company’s parent group IAG SA.<br/>A joint venture between BA, the US carrier and IAG’s Spanish Iberia arm on North Atlantic routes took more than a decade to win regulatory clearance and is regarded as one of the most profitable in the entire airline industry.<br/>