Qatar Airways has been offered a 25% stake in a US startup airline, says Al Baker

It is no secret that Qatar Airways is keen to make an entry into the US aviation market. It had tried and failed to buy up to 10% of American Airlines last year, but nobody had really expected them to stop trying.

Now, a second chance has opened up for them to be a part of the giant market when it was announced that a startup US airline has offered them with a 25% stake, reported Gulf Times.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker confirmed this news, while speaking with reporters at an airshow in Kuwait, although he declined to name the airline in question, according to The Peninsula.

Qatar Airways has in recent times been on a buying spree, taking a 9.61% stake in Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific last year. It had also bought a 49% stake in Italy’s Meridiana last year

The start-up airline is being funded as a private initiative and hence, Qatar Airways is not expected to face the same same opposition as last time. However, Al Baker would not name the airline, disclose where it would be based and did not confirm if Qatar Airways intended to purchase the stake, reported Qatar Tribune.

Qatar Airways also holds a 20% stake in British Airways’ parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group and a 10% stake in South America’s LATAM Airlines Group.

Baker said Qatar Airways’ owner, the government of Qatar, is open to swapping up to 49% of its shares with other airlines in which the Gulf carrier has stakes.

“We would be the largest carrier of the world,” he said of his idea to create a virtual mega-airline.

Baker also expressed regret about management changes at Airbus, including the impending departure of Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier, due to step down in February.

“Airbus is going into uncharted waters,” Baker said, warning that other staff could also leave the European planemaker.

Bregier was long assumed to be the heir apparent to Chief Executive Tom Enders, who is to leave the company next year.

“Not having a continuity of management will, I think, be very disruptive to Airbus.”

Airbus declined to comment on Baker’s remarks.

Qatar Airways is one of the largest Middle East airlines and is a major customer of Airbus and its rival, Boeing.