Delta CEO 'Appalled' by Qatar Air Slight of U.S. Cabin Crews

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said he was “appalled” to hear insulting remarks about US flight attendants by his counterpart at Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker disparaged US flight attendants as “grandmothers,” while boasting that his airline’s cabin crews had an average age of 26. He apologised Wednesday after a firestorm of criticism from labor unions and American Airlines, the carrier in which Al Baker is interested in buying a major stake. “I was appalled to hear Akbar’s comments about our people,” Bastian said Thursday. “I’m told he has apologized, but I think that’s woefully inadequate. There’s a consistent theme there that he wants to skirt the rules and play by his own rules.” Delta, American and United Continental have pushed the US for two years to open talks on whether Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways PJSC use government subsidies to compete unfairly. The dispute has sparked rounds of verbal sparring, with Al Baker often criticising the quality performance of the US companies. Bastian said he was glad that Delta employees and those at other US airlines “spoke with one large voice to say that it’s unacceptable, inappropriate.”<br/>