Qatar Airways CEO takes dig at Qantas as it tries to block more flights to Australia

Qatar Airways CEO has made a brutal dig at Qantas after the flag carrier opposed the Middle East airline’s bid to double its flights to Australia to 21 flights a week.

Akbar Al Baker has urged Qatar Airways to add more flights to Australia, but his proposal has been continually blocked by authorities.

Qantas has again attempted to block Qatar Airways from its latest expansion offer by filing an application with the federal government on Tuesday.

Qantas has tried to block Qatar Airways in its latest bid by filing an application with the federal government on Tuesday (pictured, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce)

Qantas claimed it would be unfair and lead to the loss of more Australian jobs if Qatar Airways were allowed to expand.

But our national carrier’s attempt to shut down the airline got a quick comeback from Mr Baker, where he urged the federal government “this time” to “commemorate Qatar Airlines’ commitment in difficult times.”

He called on Qantas to reduce the number of flights and accused it of raising ticket prices and acting only in the interest of its shareholders.

“Australia’s largest operator (Qantas) has cut its flight to 50 per cent of pre-Covid levels, more than doubling the price of fares to the Australian people in favor of shareholders,” Mr Baker told Sky News on Friday. .

In addition, getting billions of dollars in state aid during the pandemic period in 20 and 21.

“And at the same time, even their major international partner has reduced the number of flights to just 50 percent to pre-Covid levels.”

Mr Baker said Qatar Airways continued to play an important role during the pandemic.

“We have connected Australian people to the world during the most difficult period in aviation history,” he said.

“We continued uninterrupted at the height of the Covid, serving the three main points in Australia – Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. We also added Brisbane to the network during the pandemic.’

Joyce said the problems plaguing Qantas are likely to continue for the next 18 months due to issues with aircraft manufacturers’ aviation supply chain.

He explained at an American Chamber of Commerce Australia event in Sydney on October 24 that supply chain issues are still a major concern for aviation today as the industry tried to recover from Covid.

Joyce says issues plaguing the airline are likely to continue for the next 18 months due to issues with aircraft manufacturers’ aviation supply chain (stock image)

Aircraft manufacturers are struggling to quickly provide enough spare parts for airlines trying to accommodate more passengers as operations and air flights return to pre-pandemic levels.

“Airplane windshields are now a globally restricted item,” he said.

“We used to be able to replace a windshield in 12 hours, maybe 24 hours.

“It took Jetstar nearly seven days to source last month.”

Mr Joyce has admitted the company was just 11 weeks away from going bankrupt at the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020.

Mr Joyce admitted the company would have just 11 weeks to go out of business at the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020

However, Qatar Airways is not without controversy either.

The airline is being sued by five Australian women after they were allegedly searched at gunpoint at Doha airport after a baby was found in a bathroom.

Hundreds of women were forcibly removed from the plane in Doha on October 2, 2020, as officials searched a bathroom at the terminal for the mother of a newborn baby.

The women were removed by armed guards and many say they were forced to perform gynecological or intimate physical examinations.

Of the 18 Australian women involved in the incident, five have now filed suit with the Federal Court after failing to obtain compensation from the Qatari government through other channels.

A passenger was forced to undergo a strip search with her five-month-old son, the lawsuit alleges. Another, who is elderly and legally blind, was led from the plane but was not searched.