While the airlines world over are scaling down operations and trimming costs to grapple with soaring fuel prices, Qatar Airways still seems optimistic about its plans to launch a budget carrier.
Reiterating his statement to Emirates Business in May 2008, the chief executive of Doha-based carrier, Akbar Al Baker, said yesterday that Qatar Airways could launch a low-cost carrier. "But that is if we feel the airline's market share is being threatened by other carriers," he said. "We already have registered a name for the low-cost carrier, and have aircraft ready for the budget carrier. We will look to offer better and lower prices than others. And we would be able to do that in a painless way."
He said Qatar Airways would launch the budget carrier in 90 days "from the time I feel the pain of other carriers eating into my share. I am against the idea of a low-cost carrier. Joining the bandwagon would not be because I am for the idea. It is for me to pre-empt what someone else is doing to hurt my market share."
Earlier in May Al-Baker had said: "We will not be tying up with any low-cost airline. If the influx of low-cost carriers into the market is going to hurt my market share, we will launch our own low-cost carrier. We will not stay quiet."
At present, there are three budget carriers that operate out of Qatar, including Sharjah-based Air Arabia, India's Air India Express and Bahrain Air.