oneworld

A start-up airline in the US has offered a 25% stake to Qatar Airways, CE Akbar al-Baker said Wednesday, giving the Gulf carrier a second chance to buy into a US airline. Qatar Airways tried to buy up to 10% of listed American Airlines last year, but changed its mind in August after opposition from the US carrier’s management. The start-up airline was private and so Qatar Airways would not face the same opposition this time, Baker said. However, he declined to name the airline or disclose where it would be based and did not say if Qatar Airways intended to purchase the stake. Qatar Airways bought 9.61% of Cathay Pacific and 49% of Meridiana last year. Those acquisitions added to a portfolio of airline holdings that includes 20% of IAG and 10% of LATAM. <br/>

The American Airlines uniform lawsuit filed last fall in federal court in Chicago has gotten a big boost. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a health hazard evaluation of symptomatic reactions believed to be tied to uniforms supplied to tens of thousands of American Airlines employees in September of 2016 by Twin Hill. A key conclusion in the NIOSH evaluation states: "It is possible that textile chemicals in the (Twin Hill) uniforms or the physical irritant properties of the uniform fabrics have caused skin symptoms among some AA employees who wore the uniforms. Irritant and allergenic compounds were identified in some uniform garments, which could cause these skin symptoms." <br/>