Qatar Airways CEO: No interest in Air Serbia
Qatar Airways Group CEO, Akbar Al Baker, has said the airline has no plans to acquire a stake in Air Serbia after Serbia’s President floated the idea in Doha in March. Speaking at a press conference at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai yesterday, Mr Al Baker said, “We have invested in airlines that have synergies with Qatar Airways in order for us to feed into each other’s networks. At the same time, we have assisted each other in growing and developing joint ventures. We do not have any intention in Air Serbia, although we are always open to expanding codeshares and joint flights with each other. We have a lot of partnerships”. Qatar Airways owns stakes in seven airlines.
Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, said in February he requested for the Emir of Qatar to review the possibility of Qatar Airways becoming Air Serbia’s future strategic partner. He added that further talks on the matter would be held during the Emir’s visit to Serbia, which is yet to be scheduled. The Serbian carrier is currently majority state-owned with a minority 16.2% stake held by Etihad Airways, which is expected to exit from the arrangement in the near future. The Serbian carrier had previously made no secret that it wishes to work closely with a larger airline. In its 2021 annual report, the carrier noted as part of its future development goals, “We will work with all major carriers in the short-term and seek comprehensive cooperation with one of the main airline groups in the long-term”.
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| Qatar Airways and Air Serbia have a wide-ranging mutual codeshare agreement in place |
Air Serbia and Qatar Airways inked a wide-ranging mutual codeshare agreement earlier this year, which has seen both airlines place their designator codes and flight numbers on over a dozen of each other’s routes. Air Serbia has said it is open to strategic partnerships, noting it could be one of the tools used to further expand and ensure the carrier’s long-term sustainability amid an uncertain global market. The Serbian airline will mark the tenth anniversary since its relaunch with Etihad’s assistance this October. Today, the Emirati carrier has little influence over the airline. Earlier this year, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, told EX-YU Aviation News, “Etihad is a minority shareholder and they have no involvement in the management of the airline”.
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