American Airlines and Qatar Airways have renewed their strategic codeshare partnership, ending their strained relationship over accusations, media reports said.
Both airlines have ended the spat that carried on for more than two years. The spat was caused over accusations over $25 billion in unfair subsidies. These subsidies were anticipated to give Qatar Airways a major competitive advantage in the industry.
With the new partnership, Qatar Airways will deliver better financial transparency and ensure that it does not operate indirect flights to the US through other countries. However, both airlines will create more services to create connections to destinations in the US and the Middle East.
Under the terms of the agreement, customers can purchase a ticket through American Airlines and take Qatar flights to destinations in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent, media reports said. Qatar Airways will use the agreement to provide connections to destinations in the US.
American Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said in a statement, “The issues that led to the suspension of our partnership two years ago have been addressed. We believe resuming our codeshare agreement will allow us to provide service to markets that our customers, team members and shareholders value, including new growth opportunities for American Airlines.”
Qatar Airways has become one of the biggest airlines in Asia, operating a fleet of 250 airplanes to 150 destinations. Previously, American Airlines said that Qatar Airways was grasping the market share with tickets at subsidised prices by the government.