Qatar gains breakthrough in tough German market access

A charm offensive by Gulf airlines has led to a breakthrough in the deadlock to gain more flights from the region to Germany.

It was announced today that Qatar Airways is to be granted additional slots from Doha to German airports increasing services from 21 to 35 flights per week.Qatar CEO, Akbar al Baker was in Berlin a few weeks ago at the IATA annual general meeting and German officials came to Doha for talks. The discussions resulted in a deal to amend the 1996 bilateral agreement between the two states, the Qatari Civil Aviation Authority today.

Qatar – like its Gulf rival Emirates – has been anxious to extend its reach into Germany which it sees as a potentially large market for flights to Asia and Africa via the Gulf hub.

Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum was also in Germany last month and met Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The move to increase access by the Arab carriers to tge German market has been fiercely opposed by national carrier Lufthansa who have , for the past few years, urged caution over further liberalisation of air transport agreements with the Middle East, warning that it could upset competitiveness and threaten the labour market.

Qatar Airways' German network currently extends to three cities: Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin. . The new agreement is believed to cover flights to five German airports.

Emirates is also negotiating to gain access to Berlin and Stuttgart among other secondary German cities.

Lufthansa said the market opportunities and competition conditions between Europe and the UAE have become “utterly imbalanced” and suggests further liberalisation of the air services agreements could make the situation worse.

By serving the German market with a much higher frequency, says Lufthansa, Gulf carriers can sap Asia-bound traffic by providing connecting flights through their own Middle Eastern hubs.