Etihad Airways is a stakeholder in Jet Airways (India) Ltd. Photo: Reuters
Emirates and Etihad, two state-owned airlines in the United Arab Emirates, denied on Thursday a Bloomberg report which quoted unnamed sources as saying Emirates was seeking to take over Etihad to create the world’s largest airline. “There is no truth to this rumour,” an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters.
Persian Gulf airline Emirates is looking at taking over unprofitable neighbour Etihad, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News, a move that would create the world’s biggest carrier by passenger traffic. Any deal, talk on which are only at a preliminary stage, would require the blessing of the rulers of the richest sheikhdoms in the United Arab Emirates.