American-Qatar Airline clash spurs codeshare demise, CEO apology

The feud between American Airlines and Qatar Airways keeps escalating. First, American scoffed at the Mideast airline’s interest in buying as much as 10% of the US company. That prompted Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker to say his counterpart at American, Doug Parker, was “frightened” by the proposed investment. Then Al Baker found himself in the hot seat this week after disparaging US flight attendants as “grandmothers” and boasting that his own cabin crews had an average age of 26. He apologised Wednesday after a rebuke by unions and American, which called the remarks “both sexist and ageist.” The latest casualty is a marketing deal between the two companies, known as a codeshare, which American now says it will end because of a longstanding dispute over whether Persian Gulf carriers use government subsidies to compete unfairly. The US company privately notified Qatar Airways of the decision on June 29 -- a week after disclosing the Mideast airline’s overture to potentially become one of American’s largest shareholders. “They definitely are trying to send a message to Qatar that they don’t want Qatar involved in American,” said George Hamlin, president of Hamlin Transportation Consulting. American said it would also end a marketing agreement with Etihad Airways. The end of the codeshare deals won’t have a significant financial impact, American said. Etihad said it was “disappointed” with American’s exit from the codeshare pact and rejected allegations it violated any air-transportation agreements.<br/>