If Quest meant business, al-Baker talked action. A panel discussion yesterday saw Akbar al-Baker, the chief executive officer of Qatar Airways, come face to face with arguably the best known television correspondent in the international business field.

Richard Quest of CNN fame was moderating a panel discussion on the ills that have engulfed the airline industry. Right from fuel prices to the future of low-cost airlines, true to his style, Quest hammered away at the panellists consisting of some of the biggest names in the airline industry as well as from the financial sector.

Al-Baker, who was appointed to the Iata (International Air Transport Association) board of governors at the World Air Transport Summit in Beijing, was in his element as he answered the probing questions with aplomb, wit and pointed replies.

When Quest asked the panellists what would be the situation in a year from now, like say at the next annual Iata summit, al-Baker shot from the hip. “I think we’ll see fewer CEOs and less airlines.” Asked whether he would be around, al-Baker’s reply was: “I will be here, definitely.”

Al-Baker was scathing on the airline industry regulators who, he said, had no clue as to what was happening (to put it mildly). Afterwards, he did admit to Gulf Times, that his (original) statement was crude.

Stating that there were too many regulations, al-Baker said they need to be scrapped. “Get rid of them.”

Of particular focus was the European Union’s ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) which has been objected to by a lot of countries outside Europe, especially China, which is leading the growth in the global airline industry in general and Asia in particular.

Al-Baker said: “Forget about ETS. Collect the money from the travelling passenger.”
Asked which regulation he would single out as the most damaging, al-Baker said, there was a list of them, without elaborating.

When it came to the question of low-cost airlines, al-Baker stated emphatically that in the long term, they would not be able to sustain themselves. He pointed out some of the strugglers in Asia, especially Air Asia and some others in India, without naming them.

On alliances between airlines, al-Baker was non-committal. “I will not tell you”. When asked who would he have an alliance with, the reply was the same.

Qantas Airways was the first to bear the brunt of the Quest for answers. Alan Joyce, the CEO and managing director, was asked whether the airline was in intensive care. Joyce sounded defensive as he replied at length about the strengths and weaknesses of the industry as a whole.

As airlines across the globe struggle to stay afloat, so to speak, the good news has been coming from the Middle East, specially the Gulf region, North and Latin America, Asia and parts of Africa.

So, no issue at all as far as al-Baker was concerned. As he put it: “Middle East carriers come as breath of fresh air. The airline industry has changed thanks to us.”

In a pointed reference, al-Baker had a statement to make. “The present director general of Iata talks in terms of ‘us’, not ‘I’ and ‘me’. The new set-up will do a better job.”

“Aviation is a major contributor to the development of a country, providing jobs, attracting tourism, trade and securing profitability to the industry as well”.

To constant cheering from a near full-house, al-Baker almost stole the show from the ‘Quest means Business’ star. Well, almost.