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Home » Lufthansa » Qatar Airways Would Ditch Oneworld For Lufthansa Partnership
LufthansaQatar Airways

Qatar Airways Would Ditch Oneworld For Lufthansa Partnership

Matthew Klint Posted onDecember 4, 2019November 14, 2023 13 Comments

a plane on the runway

When it comes his relationship with oneworld, Qatar Airways’ Chief Akbar Al-Baker acts like a victim. He’s quick to cry foul and threaten to leave, but never follows through on his threat. And yet his charges are largely delusional and his latest threat to break away is again easy dismissible.

Qatar Airways Targets A Lufthansa Investment

Qatar Airways is interested in an investment in Lufthansa. Speaking in Germany, Al-Baker, who is never one to hold his tongue, was quick to express interest in a Lufthansa stake:

“If there is an opportunity to invest in Lufthansa, we would like to do it.

Germany is a very important country for us, both in terms of air transport services and in terms of development of tourism.”

German law requires the majority of shareholders to be German, but would not preclude Qatar Airways from acquiring a stake in Lufthansa.

Al-Baker: I’d Leave oneworld For Lufthansa

When asked about the conflict between Qatar Airways’ oneworld membership and Lufthansa’s status as a founding member of Star Alliance, Al-Baker quickly answered:

“We have said several time that we will leave oneworld.”

That’s Al-Baker’s standard answer: threaten to leave oneworld without even giving it a second thought.

> Read More: Qatar Airways Has Every Right To Ditch Oneworld, But Should Stay
> Read More: Is Qatar Airways Plotting To Take Over oneworld?

Lufthansa Not Interested In Qatar Airways Investment

Unsurprisingly, Lufthansa was not amused by the overture. A spokesperson said:

“We did not have Lufthansa privatized in Germany to have it nationalized in Qatar.”

Ouch.

CONCLUSION

Don’t hold your breath waiting for this partnership. At the same time, I do think Qatar Airways would gladly drop its oneworld membership to partner with Lufthasna. Since that won’t happen, though, I would expect Qatar to keep complaining about oneworld while remaining a part of it.

image: Aero Icarus / Flickr

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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13 Comments

  1. Aztec Reply
    December 4, 2019 at 8:01 am

    I recommend googling, ‘battered wife syndrome’. It is NOT about threatening to leave and never following through. This is a really bad analogy.

    • Ben Reply
      December 4, 2019 at 8:10 am

      And highly insensitive too

    • Ben Reply
      December 4, 2019 at 8:13 am

      Agreed, I did a double-take when reading that.

    • Matthew Reply
      December 4, 2019 at 8:36 am

      That’s not what I meant.

      • Aztec Reply
        December 4, 2019 at 9:01 am

        Wow, is that what you think this syndrome is about? It is about a woman suffering abuse and thinking she deserves it.

        • Matthew Reply
          December 4, 2019 at 9:58 am

          Yes, I know…that is exactly what I had in mind from the start. But to avoid offense, I’m just going to modify the opening.

      • HLC Reply
        December 4, 2019 at 9:04 am

        Whatever you “meant”, it is not how it comes across. Just change the opening…

        • Aaron Reply
          December 4, 2019 at 9:07 am

          “I was talking about Al-Baker “killing” the relationship then claiming self-defense.”

          That…still isn’t anything like what a battered spouse goes through.

  2. Matthias Reply
    December 4, 2019 at 8:16 am

    I’m pretty sure that the law doesn’t require a 50% German stake, only EU law that requires a 50% stake from EU countries combined.

  3. Lamar Reply
    December 4, 2019 at 8:34 am

    Al Baker please leave ONEWORLD and quit kveching and bellyaching. Just leave.

    • Andrew Reply
      December 4, 2019 at 10:01 am

      what happens if Qatar leaves, but also dragging IAG with them?

      • Matthew Reply
        December 4, 2019 at 10:02 am

        That would be something!

        • Jack Reply
          December 5, 2019 at 12:38 am

          Why is oneworld so much worse than Skyteam?

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