Exclusive | Leave if you’re not happy, Qantas CEO tells Qatar Airways in response to Oneworld exit threats
- Airline chief Alan Joyce’s comments come amid deepening dispute over Gulf carrier’s expansion into Australia
- Qantas says destinations lost because of row with Qatar Airways can be replaced thanks to pact with Emirates, Air France and KLM
Leave if you are not happy, Qantas Airways CEO Alan Joyce said in response to renewed threats by Qatar Airways to quit a global airline pact amid a brewing dispute over the Gulf carrier’s expansion plans.
The head of the Australian airline told the Post earlier this week that “nobody should be in an alliance where they believe it’s not working for them”. Both companies are part of Oneworld, a grouping of some of the world’s top airlines, including Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has threatened for years to pull out of the pact. He revived the warning last month, then reiterated his comments on Tuesday, citing a letter allegedly sent by Qantas to its staff attacking the Gulf airline’s push into Australia.
Al Baker, who has defended the expansion as being done at the invitation of the Australian government, said he “doesn’t see any point” staying in the alliance.
In his first public comments since the rift made headlines, Joyce said: “Our view has been very simple, we’re after fair competition.”