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Qatar drops bid for stake in American Airlines
Qatar Airways has ditched plans to make a bid for American Airlines, saying the investment ‘no longer meets our objectives’.
In a statement the airline said: "Qatar Airways has taken the decision not to proceed with its proposed passive financial investment in American Airlines.
"Further review of the proposed financial investment, taking into account the latest public disclosure of American Airlines, has demonstrated that the investment no longer meets our objectives."
It said it would continue to investigate alternative investment opportunities in the US and elsewhere.
The move to buy up to a 10% stake in American was disclosed in June but was not met with enthusiasm by the US airline.
American’s CEO Doug Parker said the airline wasn’t ‘particularly excited’ about the bid, which it found ‘puzzling’ given its ‘extremely public stance on the illegal subsidies that Qatar, Emirates and Etihad have all received over the years from their governments’.
Shortly after, a public row broke out between the Doha-based airline and the US aviation industry after Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, told an industry event that American carriers are ‘crap’ and passengers travelling on them are ‘always served by grandmothers’.
He later apologised for the ‘careless remarks’ and said they didn’t express his true sentiment about cabin crew.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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