The rout in airline stocks continued Tuesday with American hitting a more than 6-year low, leading the S&P 500 down as worries persisted about the impact of the coronavirus on travel demand. Shares of US carriers were all off by more than the broader market. United, American and Delta Monday issued fee waivers for travellers booked on flights to South Korea, where the virus has sickened close to 1,000 people. That raises concerns about the effect of the disease on travel demand beyond China. Delta Tuesday extended waivers to 3 cities in Italy — Milan, Bologna and Venice — due to the outbreak there. American shares Tuesday plunged 9.2% to US$23.12, the lowest price on record for the company since it started trading after its 2013 merger with US Airways. <br/>
oneworld
Qatar Airways has struck a revived codeshare deal with its Oneworld partner American Airlines, 2 years after the US carrier ended their co-operation. American and Qatar initially began codesharing in 2013. But the partnership came under strain amid the growing subsidy row between the US majors and Gulf carriers. While tensions over the latter were eased by an agreement between Qatar and the USA over open skies, the row reignited over Qatar Airways’ involvement in Air Italy. Notably the announcement of the restoration of American Airlines and Qatar Airways partnership comes just 2 weeks after shareholders took the decision to put Air Italy into liquidation. While Qatar had made clear it was prepared to continue its investment, it said it could not do so without the support of the remaining shareholders. <br/>