Top Middle East airlines – Emirates and Etihad – on Thursday, 20 September, denied a Bloomberg report that suggested that the two will merge to create the world's largest carrier.
The report, published earlier in the day, suggested that Emirates will take over Etihad, and that talks were at a "preliminary stage." According to Bloomberg, if the two airlines decided to merge, the market value would be bigger than $19.2 billion, which is bigger than the American Airlines Group Inc.
Both the carriers are state-owned and would make any merger "politically sensitive." Emirates is owned by the government of Dubai, while Etihad is run by the Abu Dhabi government. The airlines would therefore require approval from the ruling families of UAE, if the merger were to take place.
A source reportedly told Reuters that while a merger "could conceivably" happen in the future, Abu Dhabi would not be willing to "give up control" of the airline and brand.
According to the report, Emirates is three times bigger than Eithad, with a fleet of 268 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 jets as of 31 March.
(With inputs from Bloomberg, Reuters.)
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