Qatar Airways Eyes 10% Stake in American Airlines<br />The timing of the Qatar Airways approach also adds a complication to the United States government’s increasingly troubled relationship with Qatar, the tiny but wealthy Persian Gulf Arab emirate<br />that borders Saudi Arabia and is home to the largest American military air base in the Middle East.<br />By MICAH MAIDENBERG, AMIE TSANG and RICK GLADSTONEJUNE 22, 2017<br />Qatar Airways has expressed interest in buying up to 10 percent of American Airlines, an unsolicited approach<br />that comes amid criticism from United States carriers that Persian Gulf competitors have an unfair advantage.<br />Several United States carriers, including American Airlines, have complained to the Trump administration about the subsidies<br />that the Persian Gulf airlines receive from their government backers.<br />American, along with other major domestic players, has accused Qatar<br />and other Gulf airlines of violating air treaties, called Open Skies agreements, by fueling their growth with huge subsidies from their government backers.<br />American said in the securities filing that the proposed transaction “does not alter” its conviction<br />that the federal government must enforce its Open Skies deal with the Qatari government to “ensure fair competition.” Matt Miller, a spokesman at American Airlines, declined to comment beyond the securities filing.<br />The state-owned Qatar Airways said it intended to buy the American carrier’s stock<br />on the open market, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
