Qatar Airways plans to buy a stake in another foreign airline, extending an expansion push that’s seen the Gulf carrier build up overseas holdings and announce new routes to the US even as President Donald Trump’s seeks to restrict travel to the world’s largest economy. The state-owned company, which has expressed interest in Royal Air Maroc in the past, expects to finalise the purchase of a 49% stake in Italy’s Meridiana in the coming days. The Persian Gulf airline also plans to submit a joint application with Qatar Investment Authority to set up a new Indian carrier in “weeks,” CEO Akbar Al Baker said on Monday. “We see potential in another acquisition in a region which, unfortunately, I cannot disclose at the moment,” Al Baker said. “The world is still too large, and we see there is potential for us in still many other regions and cities in the world.” Qatar Airways has aggressively expanded in recent years, accumulating 20% of BA parent IAG and buying 10% of South America’s biggest carrier LatAm Airlines. While the strategy is a gamble, given restrictions on foreign influence and control in most countries, Al Baker said his company will seek to help cut costs by cooperating with its partners on ordering planes and securing supplies. For the new Indian carrier, the majority stake would be owned by QIA, with Qatar Air taking a minority stake, sidestepping restrictions by the Indian government on ownership of domestic carriers by foreign airlines. The new carrier would have a fleet of 100 narrow-body planes and Qatar Air is open to offers from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer as well as revived interest in Bombardier’s C Series, Al Baker said.<br/>
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Qatar Airways announced plans to add San Francisco to its network of US destinations, plotting expansion just days after rival Emirates moved to reduce flights to the country citing President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions. The Doha-based carrier will serve the California city starting in 2018, the company said Monday at a press conference in Dubai. The Persian Gulf airline will use Boeing Co. 777-300 aircraft on the route, which will become its 15th US destination. Qatar Airways has remained bullish on the US even after Trump’s administration targeted the region with an attempt to block travel from six predominantly Muslim nations and a ban on carrying on laptop and tablet computers on flights from Middle East airports, including Doha. Emirates, which is based in Dubai, last week cited weaker demand caused by the restrictions as the cause for scaling back flights on five of its 12 US routes. American rivals have accused Emirates and Qatar Air with unfair competition. “We didn’t have massive declines like other carriers, so we still have robust loads to the US,” said Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, vowing not to reduce frequencies on US routes. “President Trump is a very wise individual and a very good businessman, and I don’t think he will buy into bullying by the three American carriers. Al Baker said US planes are flying about 75% full, down about half a percentage point since the laptop ban. <br/>
South Korean budget airline Jin Air Tuesday said it has chosen Mirae Asset Daewoo Co Ltd to manage its IPO, and that it aims to complete the offering by the end of this year. The IPO comes as flag carriers feel the impact of political tension with China, which has pulled down the number of Chinese tourists. This has dimmed the outlook for South Korean airlines already bracing for rising competition from the low-cost rivals. Jin Air said it would use the planned listing on South Korea's main stock exchange to improve its financial health, fund investment for sustainable growth and for other purposes.The budget affiliate of the country's biggest carrier, Korean Air Lines, said it aims to increase market share by expanding its fleet to 30 jets and routes to 55 by 2018, from 22 and 36 respectively at present. <br/>
State-owned budget airline flydubai will increase capacity to Russia by up to 50% from September partly in response to a new visa system for Russian citizens travelling to the United Arab Emirates. flydubai had carved out a niche connecting Dubai to destinations in Russia and former Soviet states that previously had limited or no direct air links with the city state. But flydubai and other airlines cut flights to Russia in the past few years as the country's economy was hit by low oil prices and the impact of Ukraine sanctions. "We're trying to get back the same volume we used to be before," flydubai CE Ghaith al-Ghaith said Monday. Flydubai currently operates 29 weekly flights to seven Russian destinations, an airline spokeswoman later said. The increase will be compared to 2016, the spokeswoman said without providing further details. Al-Ghaith said demand on Russian routes was increasing following recent visa changes by the United Arab Emirates for Russian citizens.<br/>