oneworld

Qatar Airways is considering further increasing its stake in BA owner IAG after the UK-based company lost a third of its market value in the fallout from the country’s vote to leave the EU, according to people familiar with the matter. Qatar Airways, already IAG’s largest shareholder, is exploring boosting its holding to about 20 from 15%, said the people, who asked not to be identified because deliberations are private. The Middle Eastern airline is monitoring market developments and shareholders’ willingness to sell and hasn’t made a final decision on the move, the people said. Standard Life, the Scottish insurer and asset manager which is among the top-three shareholders, is also exploring increasing its stake in IAG to take advantage of the selloff, according to people familiar with the matter. The Edinburgh-based firm owns about 6 percent, according to IAG’s website. Representatives for Qatar Airways, IAG and Standard Life declined to comment. The Middle Eastern carrier could buy between 2 and 5% on the market, one of the people said. A 5% stake would be worth about GBP373m based on the current market value.<br/>

SriLankan Airlines will close two out of three European services this fall. It will axe services from Colombo to Frankfurt from Oct. 30 and to Paris Charles de Gaulle from Nov. 6, leaving just one flight to Europe—a daily Colombo-London Heathrow A330-300 service. The airline said the two unprofitable routes were dropped as the Sri Lanka flag carrier prepares for difficult market conditions and searches for ways to become more competitive. Savings that were achieved because of lower fuel prices in the 2015-16 financial year has been eliminated as fares fell because of increased competition, especially from Gulf carriers. In addition, a weaker exchange rate has led to a drop in SriLankan’s market share in Europe. SriLankan said it will increase new, “promising” codeshare agreements with Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways partnerships. <br/>