The feud between the CEOs of Delta Air Lines and Qatar Airways got a little more personal this week.
Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker, in New York to tout new flights and service, was asked about complaints by U.S. airline chiefs — Delta’s Richard Anderson among them — that carriers from the Persian Gulf region use government subsidies to unfairly fuel fast growth.
Al Baker called the criticism “baloney,” USA Today reported, and added: “I am ready to challenge Anderson. Let him come face to face with me in any forum. I will hang him on a wall.”
He said Anderson’s goal is to stifle competition “so he can swindle American passengers even more.”
Al Baker contends government support for his carrier is more of an equity investment than a subsidy. Qatar Airways plans to start Atlanta-Doha flights next year.
He and Anderson have a history of testy exchanges.
Last winter, Al Baker noted that U.S. carriers got government aid after the 2001 terror attacks. Anderson called that comment from the leader of a Gulf states carrier ironic, "given the fact that our industry was really shocked by the terrorism of 9/11 which came from terrorists from the Arabian peninsula…"
Delta didn't respond to Al Baker's latest comments. A spokeswoman for the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, a trade group backed by Delta and other major U.S. carriers, said it was "disappointing that Akbar Al Baker has come to the United States in order to level insults and spread misinformation."
About the Author
