Qatar Air adds San Francisco after Emirates' Trump cuts

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/>