IATA: Gulf arguments rumble on
Siva Govindasamy, Singapore (07Jun11, 05:41 GMT)
The debate over the growth of and competition from Gulf carriers such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways continued during the CEO forum on the first day of IATA's annual general meeting in Singapore.
Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said the arguments against Gulf carriers made little sense in an "age of globalisation and free trade". Low labour costs advantages are a misnomer, he added, pointing out that Qatar's pilots:
"were earning as much, if not more, than their European or US counterparts".
"We are an efficient airline, run in a proper way with high utilisation,"
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news