MIAMI—Etihad Airways Chief Executive James Hogan on Sunday
played down concern of broadening opposition to the growth of
Middle East airlines even as he warned that pricing in major
markets was exceptionally weak.
It is "only a handful of people" challenging the growth of
Etihad and its neighbors Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways, Mr.
Hogan said in an interview.
U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American
Airlines, along with their European allies Air France-KLM and
Deutsche Lufthansa, are lobbying governments to stem the growth of
the Persian Gulf airlines they accuse of benefiting from unfair
competition. The Mideast carriers deny the charge.
"It is two airlines in Europe, and it is three airlines in the
U.S.A. Does that represent the world of aviation?" Mr. Hogan said
on the eve of the International Air Transport Association's annual
meeting of most of the world's airline executives.
The U.S. departments of Transportation, Commerce and State have
set up public forums to canvass views on the effect of the Mideast
carriers on the U.S. aviation market. Mr. Hogan said most of those
submissions backed keeping markets open.
Etihad last month submitted its response to the U.S. government.
"We have certainly not in any way damaged the U.S. carriers," Mr.
Hogan said, adding that he would focus on running the airline
rather than dwell on the issue.
Mr. Hogan said there were challenges in some segments of the
business. "What we are seeing this year, and it is probably due to
capacity, we are seeing a level of discounting we have not seen in
a long time," he said. Discounting, often seen in the weaker travel
periods of the year, is now also occurring in some of the peak
season, he said.
Europe, where austerity regimes are still curbing business-class
travel, and America were hit particularly hard. While load factor,
a measure of seats sold, remained strong, the prices are a
challenge, he said.
Low oil prices also have weakened some premium traffic for the
carrier as oil and gas companies have cut back some travel, Mr.
Hogan said.
China and India, on the other hand, were growing strongly and
the cargo business, which had shown signs of weakness, has
rebounded, Mr. Hogan said.
Also still on Etihad's agenda is deepening ties with Air France
despite the two airlines clashing in Europe over market access. Mr.
Hogan said Etihad was continuing negotiations with Air France to
deepen cooperation beyond code-sharing.
Mr. Hogan also said the Gulf carrier is ready to exit its almost
5% stake in Ireland's Aer Lingus PLC, which British Airways parent
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA is trying to acquire.
Aer Lingus will be in good hands at IAG, Mr. Hogan said, adding he
expected the Mideast carrier to continue to cooperate with the
Irish airline.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
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