Qatar CEO likens British Airways to a low-cost carrier.
From his boardroom in Doha, Akbar Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways, said British Airways had lost focus, describing the carrier as a “two out of ten” airline.
He went on to describe the London-based airline as “a low-cost carrier, a level I never expected BA to be.”
In regards to catering, Al Baker criticised BA for selling food, hoping that new CEO Sean Doyle can turn things around for the airline.
However, he warned that British Airways will never again be “the world’s favourite airline.”
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Qatar Airways is the largest shareholder of IAG, the holding company that owns British Airways.
The challenge BA faces is that it is locked in intense competition with budget airlines across Europe, and so in order to remain competitive, BA is forced to offer a cheap, no-frills service.
This is also the case when flying long-haul across the Atlantic, with carriers like Norwegian and LEVEL forcing BA to offer a cheaper service.
Skytrax, a UK-based consultancy which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site, rates British Airways as a 4-Star Airline for the quality of its airport and onboard product and staff service.
In the interview, Al Baker also accused Dubai of becoming a Covid-19 superspreader and blasted arch-rival Emirates as a gas-guzzling dinosaur.
