War Of Words

It could well go down as the third Gulf war but this time the ammunition is rhetoric. A vicious war of words has erupted between the fast-growing Middle East airlines and their rivals from the US and Europe and, while it may be on the other side of the world, the outcome may have repercussions for Australia’s international carriers

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar al-Baker can always be relied on to add fuel to a fire that’s already burning brightly. He didn’t disappoint as hostilities escalated between the Gulf triumvirate – Qatar, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline – and their US and European competitors which have launched an unprecedented attack claiming the three are succeeding on the back of unfair government subsidies.

Al-Baker, like his counterparts James Hogan at Etihad and Tim Clark at Emirates, angrily refuted the charges and didn’t spare his blushes in firing back. He accused Delta Air Lines of flying “crap” older planes. “The unfortunate thing is that because they are so inefficient they want to blame us – whilst we are very efficient – for their failures and drawbacks… the issue is that they cannot stand the progress the Gulf carriers are making. ” It is probably understandable that al-Baker, Hogan and Clark are angry.