The key players in the dispute that captured the Senate’s attention this week – from Anthony Albanese to Qatar Airways boss Akbar Al Baker – have long histories.
Qantas and Qatar Airways were negotiating a partnership arrangement less than two years ago that would have led to the Australian carrier ditching Emirates. It was a very different time. In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar’s chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, had nothing but praise for the national carrier, even suggesting the federal government should bail out Qantas ahead of Virgin Australia, the airline’s current partner.
A Qantas spokesman said the airline had a relationship with Qatar through the Oneworld alliance. “We always planned to extend our agreement with Emirates, who have been an amazing partner for the past 10 years and will be for a long time to come,” the spokesman said. Virgin declined to comment, and Qatar could not immediately respond to queries.
Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka answers questions during a Senate committee hearing this week.identified priority countries where bilateral arrangements were insufficient to meet demand At the event, Albanese was full of praise. “There is probably no other Australian company whose logo stirs the emotions quite like the sight of the flying kangaroo,” he said. “There are very few organisations that project Australia’s character and qualities to the world in the way Qantas does.”
The No Aircraft Noise Party made a serious run against Albanese in the year he was elected to parliament, 1996, two years after the opening of a third runway at Sydney Airport, which is adjacent to his electorate.
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