[QUOTE=fatbus;9802142]Funny listening to the pilot political experts[/QUOTE

To true fatbus, it's entertaining though...

Qatar does have friends

Donald Trump news - US to sell £9.4 billion worth of jets to Qatar | World | News | Express.co.uk

Well, he is a businessman. Cause the friction and sell arms to both sides

It is a rumour network after all! :p

That doesn't surprise me at all, listening to QatarRadio 121.5 ...:ugh:

I beg to differ UAL. They have a strong economy. It's highly likely that they will sort out the issues soon.

And well I did hear a Qatare super cruise at F400 on the way back from Far East.

Was he at the correct level and in contact with ATC? They're funny about that out that way.

I'm going to pee in my diaper if QR is the first one to offer a real commuting contract ...

I remember seeing a yield study of middle eastern routes. The local traffic had dramatically better profitability than say connecting long haul traffic. Cutting off everyone local bar the Iranians, who I cannot imagine make up the biggest premium cabin market, would not strike me as great for Qatar.

It looks like the Saudis demand a full kowtow....

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...o-end-blockade

Gents, careful what you post and what you link.

It is not Lala Land anymore.

500k fine and 15 years jail might appear.

H3DXB

The chance of Qatar agreeing to those demands seems remote.
More worrying for those presently in the gulf is h3dxb's legitimate warning.

Looks like a temporary home for some of Qatar Airways planes might have been 'conveniently' found.............
Apparently BA wants nine of them flying to cover the upcoming two week mixed fleet cabin crew strike.
So instead of being banned flying into your neighbours airspace, you can now spend a fortnight on scab labour duties.
Nice!!

No worries, only a"family issue"....

White House: Qatar Gulf row is a 'family issue' - BBC News

gearleaver et al.

Always has been and always will be a FAMILY ISSUE.

Ask anyone who has lived in the ME for any length of time.

The "United Arab Emirates" and the GCC are a joke and a laughing stock. Can't agree on Rail Link. One Currency etc etc etc .

Why? My family wants it it in Saudi, mine wants it in Dubai and mine wan..ts it in Abu Dhabi. Always has been and will be a willy waving exercise by those suffering small man syndrome.

Wise words Rule3 :ok:

It was once said of a GCC summit meeting that if you put a clock in the middle of the conference table they wouldn't agree the time.

I'm pretty sure BA asked everyone in UK before QR ... but it's summer and it's busy like every summer!

It's not scab labour if you outlaw workers even discussing the idea of unionisation in your own country. The scab concept wouldn't rate a single single thought.

This is exactly what I hear from my QR crew buddies and numerous ex-pats I know in Doha. Literally 1 is thinking of leaving, but has been thinking of packing in her crewing job for the last year or so anyway, so is totally unrelated. Everyone else I know, in Ops and various other roles at DOH have no intention of leaving. Like has been said, QR have posted record profits recently, they are still going ahead with their expansion plans, are looking into the Indian market and are trying to buy a share of AA. It has just won a range of skytrax awards again, boosting it's profile higher than the other gulf carriers. Those are hardly the signs of an airline in decline. El Al has survived all this time amid countless conflicts and airspace restrictions with it's nearest neighbours and faces hefty bills for security, why would much wealthier and larger QR be worse exactly?

The country is still trading with non gulf states, so is ticking along just fine. The Qatari government is not kicking anyone out or making demands. Indeed if they wanted to, they could cut off the gas to the UAE, but take the moral high ground. As this all goes on I am sure more and more countries will start to wonder what exactly is driving all this. The sheer diplomatic brutality being exerted on Doha is ridiculous and I think the world is starting to realise this.

You bet the QR aircraft will arrive shiny as new at LHR; good thinking sharing your customers with the competition..

All 4 still there

Now some banks are cutting ties with Qatar.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News...ts-stores.html

Not a big deal as Qatari Riyal is not "free market currency" like others.

For banks Qatari Riyal is some kind of exotic currency and if somebody was dealing the reason was only to make business smooth for good number of local customers (London great example) but when this crisis came is no wonder banks stopped as Q.Riyal has no real value and currency can sink by xx% in a day without warning

In continental Europe I can not recall any bank dealing with Riyal even before crisis. Also my bank ask me deal with dollars and offered VIP exchange rate to do business directly in QAR instead.

So not a big surprise.


I can see bigger problem what happen in few hours after 10 day deadline as Saudi apparently preparing some more sanctions for Qatar.

Yep, interesting days to come....

So... how much longer will the boycott last ? Heard a lot of things happened in today's meeting 🤔

Is EK still accepting the Qatari Riyal for in flight duty free purchases? I was speaking to a purser when the blockade was into it's first month, she said that Service Delivery had issued a directive to cabin crew to still accept the QAR.

Blockades due to differing ideologies, but if their cash is still green... :hmm::=

Fuel-Off :ok:

I hear BEIN Sports maybe working again over there ? Any truth in this rumour

Yes - confirmed to subscibers via email.

EPL, F1 et al - all back

It never went away----on satellite ;), i even renewed the subscription long after the spat started..

Actually it was NOT to accept Qatari riyals onboard. That was like 2 days after everything started and I don't think it has changed since.

There was an update wings about 7 days after the don't accept that it was OK to accept QR for duty free.

UAE and Bahrain grant Qatar Airways new routes

Qatar calls it a "great success" as planes registered in the country gain some access after over two months of blockade.


Qatar Airways can now access a new route over international waters in the Gulf controlled by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the world aviation agency announced.

The Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been working with "various Middle Eastern states to ensure equitable access to airspace for Qatar-registered aircraft" since sanctions were announced on June 5, ICAO spokesman Anthony Philbin said on Tuesday.

"Some existing air route availability has been assured, and some new temporary or contingency routes have also been developed," including through Bahrain and UAE airspace, he told AFP news agency.

Qatar had asked the ICAO to approve new routes after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt banned Qatar Airways from their airspace as part of economic and diplomatic boycott.

The air traffic restrictions have caused headaches for the 2.4 million residents of Qatar, 90 percent of whom are foreigners, as flights were forced to take longer routes, for example, to Southeast Asia.

"The ICAO and the states involved are continuously monitoring related air route suitability and ATM (air traffic management) measures, which may still be subject to further modification if necessary, by mutual agreement," Philbin said.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at the aviation consultancy Strategic Aero Research, said the new corridor, though temporary, bodes "well for a longer term solution that may provide much needed breathing space for Qatar Airways".

Ahmad told Al Jazeera that while he does not "see any resumption of pre-June 2017 normalcy in terms of flights to and from Doha", it will enable Qatar Airways to fly a little more efficiently, particularly when it could not previously fly over UAE airspace.

The UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism", an allegation Doha vehemently denies.

As part of the blockade, the countries restricted airspace for all Qatari-registered aircraft.

The announcement on Tuesday follows a close-door meeting last week between delegates and UN aviation agency's governing council in Montreal.

Those at the meeting discussed contingency routes that had been planned as part of a preliminary agreement reached earlier this month, but not yet opened to Qatar-registered flights.

Doha had asked ICAO to intervene after its national carrier was denied access to the Saudi-led group's airspace.

Qatar's Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement that the new route "was great success for Qatar, given its ability to convince the International Civil Aviation Organization of the importance of compliance by the siege countries to the Chicago Convention".

Strategic Aero Research's Ahmad said that while the ICAO meeting may have prompted conversations, there was "no indication that the ICAO directly influence" the decision of the blockading countries.

He warned the new corridor could be "rescinded in minutes" if the UAE or Bahrain decide to do so.

Link: UAE and Bahrain grant Qatar Airways new routes | Qatar News | Al Jazeera

I think it's just a route from Doha to north side of UAE FIR and then north to Iran or Muscat.

Edit

Confirmed: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...rridor-440068/

Don't think qr will return to Saudi UAE or Bahrain . But things are quiet now and that's always a symbol of negotiations