Monday, Jun 11, 2012
Beijing: Emirates President, Tim Clark, yesterday denied outright recent reports about Emirates is in talks with Qantas for a potential stake in the Australian carrier.
I had a chat with Alan Joyce [Qantas CEO] about codeshares and then the next thing we hear that Emirates is buying Qantas. Its not true at all. We are not at all buying a stake in Qantas, Clark told Gulf News on the sidelines on IATAs annual meeting in Beijing yesterday, rubbishing reports in the media over the past few days.
Qantas was reported to be in secret talks with Emirates about the possibility of an equity tie-up after its share price ebbed to A$1 (Dh3.65) last week.
Clarifying that Qantas has not initiated any stake talks with Emirates, Clark said: They have not approached us for a stake. And we dont have to go to the equity level.
They are looking for somewhere to strengthen their international business. So if its something that value adds both to their operations and us, we would look at it. But thats all.
Across the globe
He added that Emirates has codeshare with many airlines across the globe such as with Philippine Airlines, South African Airways, JetBlue, Thai International, American Airlines. We have codeshares everywhere. And now, we do want one in Australia, he said.
Asked if such a deal will help Emirates expand its foothold into the Australian market, Clark said: We have got an enormous foothold in Australia we have got about 73 frequencies there at the moment. We can go up to 84.
He was quick to add: But dont forget, in 1996 when we started the route, we wanted to do codeshares with Qantas then but they didnt want to do it then. And I think they are willing to do it now.
Commenting on the exact status of the codeshare talks, Clark said: If we did it dont know yet whether or not we will, it has to stack up for us and it will have to stack up for Qantas. If its neutral, then you wont do it, if its negative, you certainly wont do it, if potentially it adds value and has legs on it and sustains longevity in a commercial arrangement, then you might do it. We are still studying the possibility.
Clark added that Emirates was looking at other codeshares. We have got under study other codeshares with other carriers such as TAP Air Portugal in Lisbon, Iberia in Spain all those are interested in coming in, he said.
By Shweta Jain, Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
