DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The chairman of long-haul carrier Emirates warned Tuesday that it could strike deals with more corporations for route percentages after it began a deal with U. S. -based United Airlines.
Tim Clark, who joined the airline in 1985 when it launched, also suggests Emirates remains in an expansion position as the airline resumes flight after landing at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to reporters at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, Clark said the deal with United, as with Air Canada, showed airlines no longer viewed Emirates as a “despicable competitor”. Airlines have complained for years about the uneven festival of Middle Eastern airlines, describing them as receiving unfair government subsidies to operate.
Emirates, owned by Dubai’s hereditary government, has consistently denied having an unfair advantage. United had been one of the U. S. corporations that challenged Emirates, a deal in recent years made the dispute fade. United now also flies to Dubai, a destination it abandoned. in 2016 in the midst of the dispute.
Clark hinted that other airlines may participate in management deals with Emirates, known in the aviation industry as codeshare partnerships.
“I’m not going to say who they are because it’s the beginning, but it’s transparent that the door was opened,” he said.
Clark said he also welcomed the new festival from Saudi Arabia, which recently announced plans to create a new airline called Riyadh Air as part of billions of dollars in planned spending in the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Clark said Emirates expects to get new planes from Boeing Co. in the next two years, about 150 777X and 30 787 Dreamliners. Emirates has orders for 50 Airbus A350-900s.
While waiting for orders, Emirates is modernizing its fleet of Airbus A380 double-decker aircraft. Some are still grounded since the pandemic. Clark said he expected everyone to take off next summer.
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