Qatar strikes deal to restore American Airlines partnership

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/>