Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker on Tuesday said that the company will not buy a stake in the cash-strapped Jet Airways as a 24% stake in the airline is held by Etihad Airways, whose owner Abu Dhabi is an “enemy” of Qatar.
Abu Dhabi is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that cut ties with Qatar in 2017 over accusations of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges. The UAE together with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain have banned Qatar Airways since June of that year as part of the dispute.
“We would definitely look at it (Jet Airways) if a 24% stake was not held by Etihad,” al-Baker said on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Mumbai. “How can I take a stake in an airline which is owned by our adversary?”
Etihad is currently planning to increase its stake in Jet Airways to 49% which is looking for fresh fund infusion. Once Etihad takes its stake beyond the current 24% it will need to make an offer and the current 51% stake of promoter-chairman, Naresh Goyal will decline and he will lose the controlling position in the carrier.
Al-Baker said Qatar Airways would be “delighted” to take a stake in low-cost carrier, IndiGo, “but not in an airline where substantial ownership is by the enemy of my country”, he said, referring to Jet. Qatar Airways has previously also expressed an interest in investing in IndiGo.
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On Tuesday it also said it is in talks with IndiGo and GoAir for code share agreements to enhance its presence in the Indian aviation market. A code share agreement allows airlines to tap passengers on each other’s network.
Akbar al-Baker also said he is interested in having a fully-owned airline in India but regulations do not permit this under the current foreign direct investment in the aviation sector.
