In Brief: Delta Accuses Qatar Airways Of Taking $500m In Subsidies, Qatar Airway Lights Up The Empire State & ANA Adds A Flight To The US

a map of the earth with lights

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A few of the stories that have caught my eye recently but that didn’t warrant a post of their own.

Delta Accuses Qatar Airways Of Taking Subsidies….Again

a blue and red text on a white background

Delta is at it again…although this time it claims it has numbers to support its position.

In a recent press release the airline has claimed that Qatar Airways “received at least $491 million in government subsidies in fiscal year 2017, a violation of the Open Skies agreement with the United States

Delta says that a report conducted by forensic accountants on behalf of “the Partnership For Open Skies” has revealed that:

In its annual financial report, Qatar claimed it generated profits of $540 million during the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2017. However, a closer review of its financial statements reveals that the airline suffered substantial operating losses.

The government-owned airline suffered a $703 million operating loss in fiscal 2017 on top of a $358 million operating loss the previous year.

The report makes clear that Qatar has negative operating margins that would not sustain a viable operation absent government support.

Hmmm…two things come to mind:

  1. Did anyone think a report commissioned by the Partnership For Open Skis would come to any other conclusion than the one it came to?
  2.  I don’t know if Qatar Airways is subsidised or not (if I’m being honest I really don’t care) but I do know that US airlines (and specifically Delta) have been subsidised in the past, so at best, this really is a case of the pot calling the kettle black and utter hypocrisy from Delta.

It’s interesting to note that although American Airlines and United Airlines both form an integral part of the Partnership For Open Skies alongside Delta, neither of those two airlines saw fit to post this news via their own press release pages – it went out via the Partnership and via Delta not elsewhere.

Qatar Airways Lights Up The Empire State Building

a city skyline with a tall building

Qatar Airways has been taking a break from the issues its facing at home (and is apparently ignoring Delta’s whining) by celebrating 10 years of service the US.

The airline did so with a little bit of style by having the Empire State Building lit up in its colors (I wonder how the Partnership For Open Skies felt about that?!).

Outspoken Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said:

We were honoured to display our colours on one of the most iconic skyscrapers in the world, and the headquarters of our USA and Americas Regional offices, the Empire State Building. We believe this is a true testament to our positive presence and fantastic support in the United States

Qatar Airways is proud to have provided a decade of quality international service for our valued travellers in the United States, and we are looking forward to serving the Americas for many more years to come.

Qatar Airways continues to expand and grow; with upcoming planned services to both Las Vegas and San Francisco. Never has Qatar Airways’ commitment to the American market been stronger, and providing a vital international link between the USA to Qatar and beyond remains our goal

Oh how I would have loved to have been in the offices of the Partnership For Open Skies when this news came it!

Qatar Airways will continue the celebrations with a series of activities including, special offers from the U.S. to more than 100 destinations worldwide, as well as bonus Qmiles for Privilege Club frequent flyer members – I’ll try to bring those to you as they’re announced.

ANA Adds A Third Daily Flight To Los Angeles

a plane on the runway

As things stand ANA operates two flights between Tokyo and my adopted home of Los Angeles (one from Narita and one from Haneda International airport).

From 29 October 2017 ANA will be adding a second flight to it’s Narita – Los Angeles route taking its total of daily flights between the cities to 3.

The Narita schedule will look like this:

NH176 NRT 16:00 – 08:40 LAX (Daily 777-300ER service) **New Service**
NH006 NRT 17:05 – 11:25 LAX (Daily 777-300ER service)

NH176 LAX 10:20 – 15:20+1 day NRT (Daily 777-300ER service) **New Service**
NH005 LAX 13:10 – 16:25+1 day NRT (Daily 777-300ER service)

The Haneda service remains unchanged:

NH106 HND 22:55 – 17:16 (Daily 777-300ER service)
NH105 LAX 01:20 – 0:500+1 day HND (Daily 777-300ER service)

ANA’s 777-300 is configured with:

  • 8 First Class Seats
  • 52 Business Class seats
  • 190 Economy Class seats

As ANA has a reputation for a solid Business Class and an excellent First Class product this is good news for flyers looking to redeem Virgin Atlantic miles (a great deal) or flyers looking to transfer Amex Membership Rewards or Starwood’s Starpoints to ANA itself.

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