Qatar Airways, one of the leading plane operators in the aviation industry, recently purchased a 1.7 billion dollar stake in British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group according to the Wall Street Journal.The recent purchase was a business move made by Qatar to improve ties between Middle East growth carriers and Europe’s aviation sector in charter planes.
Qatar Airways is currently the second-ranked Persian Gulf plane charter and is competing with Emirates Airlines, the world’s biggest plane hire carrier by international traffic. Qatar Airways’s has previously invested in the EU airline industry, acquiring a 35% stake in Cargolux in 2011, one of the giant jets hires in the world specializing in cargo distribution. Despite the large investment, Qatar would later pull out of the deal a year later over a significant dispute over strategy with the private jet charter for cargo.
The difficulties surrounding Qatar’s previous investments in Cargolux poses a concern for Qatar’s relationship with IAG as the two organizations establish their relationship is moving forward. With a nearly 10% investment into IAG, Qatar will become the largest shareholder for the group, representing a Middle East carrier’s first instance owning such a significant stake in one of Europe’s leading airline groups. Despite potential criticism, the Chief Executives at Qatar and IAG have a long-tenured relationship that they believe will produce successful results, despite existing conflicts with other European airline executives on how to charter a plane.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Qatar Airways, one of the leading plane operators in the aviation industry, recently purchased a 1.7 billion dollar stake in British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group. (WSJ) The recent purchase was a business move made by Qatar to improve ties between Middle East growth carriers and Europe’s aviation sector in charter planes.
Qatar Airways is currently the second-ranked Persian Gulf plane charter and is competing with Emirates Airlines, the world’s biggest plane hire carrier by international traffic. Qatar Airways’s has previously invested in the EU airline industry, acquiring a 35% stake in Cargolux in 2011, one of the giant jets hires in the world specializing in cargo distribution. Despite the large investment, Qatar would later pull out of the deal a year later over a significant dispute over strategy with the private jet charter for cargo.
The difficulties surrounding Qatar’s previous investments in Cargolux poses a concern for Qatar’s relationship with IAG as the two organizations establish their relationship is moving forward. With a nearly 10% investment into IAG, Qatar will become the largest shareholder for the group, representing a Middle East carrier’s first instance owning such a significant stake in one of Europe’s leading airline groups. Despite potential criticism, the Chief Executives at Qatar and IAG have a long-tenured relationship that they believe will produce successful results, despite existing conflicts with other European airline executives on how to charter a plane.