Airline News
Al Baker rejects discrimination charges
March 2nd 2015
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which represents more than 4.5 million workers in 150 countries, has challenged Qatar Airways chief, Akbar Al Baker, to prove the airline’s contracts are not restrictive, particularly against women. Read More » “We’ve repeatedly laid out our proof, now let Mr Al Baker do the same,” ITF president, Paddy Crumlin, told reporters after Al Baker dismissed the claims as “a load of bullshit” in a televised interview with CNN. The ITF had referred Qatar Airways to the International Labour Organisation, saying it had evidence female cabin crew members faced gender-based discrimination, including being banned from marriage during the first five years of their contract and routinely being fired if they became pregnant.
In other news, Al Baker joined Emirates Airline chief, Sir Tim Clark, in condemning Delta Airlines boss, Richard Anderson, for blaming the previous bankruptcy filings of the U.S.’s ‘Big Three’ – American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines – on “9/11 terrorists from the Arabian Peninsula”. He said Anderson needed “to study and find out the difference between equity and subsidy,” after he and his counterparts at American and United launched another aggressive attack on the Gulf carriers, saying they have received “$40 billion in subsidies” from the Qatari and United Arab Emirates governments.
Separately, Qatar Airways denied reports it was considering pulling out of the Japanese market amid disagreements about restrictive slot timings and runway limitations “that prohibit the airline from operating at timings that provide economic benefit and optimal connectivity for passengers,” a source close to the airline told Reuters last month.
