Emirates Airline said any merger plan with Etihad Airways is for shareholders to decide and no such development is likely any time soon. “That is in the hands of the shareholders,” Emirates president Tim Clark said Tuesday. “On the short-term, medium-term horizon, I would say no.” Press reports have said United Arab Emirates’ ruling families that control Emirates and Etihad have held talks about possibly combining the two. The Abu Dhabi carrier posted a loss of US$1.87b in 2016 following the failure of an alliance-building strategy that saw it pour cash into Air Berlin and Alitalia, both of which later filed for insolvency. Emirates chairman Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in May there have never been talks with Etihad about a merger. Emirates is working with Etihad to look at areas of common ground without mixing up the brands and entering into competing areas, Clark said. <br/>