Qatar buys 10% stake in British Airways owner
Qatar Airways took delivery of its first Airbus A380 last September.
Qatar Airways has emerged as the owner of a 10% stake in International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways (BA) and Iberia.
The Gulf airline is already a member of the Oneworld alliance.
Willie Walsh, IAG’s chief executive, said he was delighted Qatar had become a “long-term supportive shareholder”.
The stake, worth about £1.15bn, gives Qatar closer links with a group that has two major European hubs and strong transatlantic networks.
Mr Walsh said his company would explore what “opportunities exist to work more closely together and further IAG’s ambitions as the leading global airline group”.
Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of Qatar, said: “IAG represents an excellent opportunity to further develop our westwards strategy.”
Earlier this month he criticised European airlines, saying they they “cannot keep up” with the competition posed by Gulf rivals.
Bigger stake
The two groups’ route networks are largely complementary, with Qatar strong in southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, while Iberia flies to many destinations in South America.
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