Qatar Air CE pledges splurge on routes to defeat embargo

Qatar Airways CE Akbar Al Baker pledged to carry on adding routes in defiance of the Saudi Arabia-led isolation of its home country. While the carrier anticipates a “very negative year” in terms of earnings, the passenger tally should be close to what it was before the embargo, Al Baker said Thursday. The airline is opening new destinations to make up for the 19 lost in countries participating in the sanctions. “We are not going to slow down,” the CE said. “This is exactly what Qatar Airways wants to prove -- that the blockade is not going to have any negative impact on the airline vis-à-vis our growth.” Routes won’t be opened just to “show the flag” but to serve genuine demand, Al Baker said. People will be “very envious when they see how many new destinations we are announcing in order to defeat our adversaries,” he added. <br/>