Speaking at a media briefing in Washington DC, Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar al Baker described the US campaign against the major Gulf carriers as a “transparent attempt to block competition and reduce customer choice”.
Al Baker maintains that the US-Qatar treaty, signed in 2007, is a balanced agreement and that none of the three US carriers was really serving the Indian sub-continent, African or Middle East markets that Qatar serves via its Doha hub.
“Our service is lawful and pro-competition,” al Baker said. “Qatar offers convenient, one-stop service to unserved destinations.”
He also accused the three US carriers of “tightly controlling capacity in their country to keep prices high. Why stop us from putting capacity into places where they are reducing capacity? We offer key competitive benefits,” he said.