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Qatar appeals to ICAO; Etihad posts US$1.87 billion loss
August 4th 2017
Qatar continues fighting its Gulf neighbours, but a breakthrough in the Middle Eastern aviation crisis remains elusive. Read More »
At a hearing in Montreal last week, Qatari transport minister, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, presented a case to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to reopen six international flight corridors to mitigate the economic fallout from the crisis between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The request is the first of three files the country is preparing to regain air rights, Al Sulaiti said.
The Qatari diplomat reconfirmed that national flag carrier, Qatar Airways, remains committed to its massive order backlogs with both Airbus and Boeing. "We are continuing [the deliveries] and maybe we'll go faster," he said, and added the airline may not meet its financial targets this year, but remained “in good shape” as it continues its expansion.
Qatar Airways reported a net profit of QAR1.97 billion (US$540 million) for the 2016-17 financial year, up 21.7% compared with a net profit of QAR1.62 billion 12 months ago. Its profit margin was 5%, a 0.5% increase of 2015-2016.
Across the Gulf, at the UAE’s Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways, the numbers are much worse. Last week Etihad announced a record annual net loss of US$1.87 billion, including a US$1.06 billion charge for writing down the value of aircraft and another US$808 million hit from the reduced value of the group’s investments in struggling airberlin and bankrupt Alitalia. Last year, Etihad recorded a US$103 million net profit.
"This year is just as challenging for the global aviation industry and the ever-evolving competitive environment is likely to impact overall performance in 2017," said Etihad Aviation Group interim chief executive officer, Ray Gammell.
Meanwhile, uncertainty still surrounds the fate of his predecessor, James Hogan, who hasn’t been seen in months. Rumour has it he remains in the UAE. Etihad did not reply to multiple enquiries from Orient Aviation.
