Qatar Airways CEO welcomes competition from new Saudi airline Riyadh Air

The CEO of Qatar Airways said he is excited for the arrival of new Saudi airline Riyadh Air, and that Saudi Arabia is “most welcome” to compete for market share, as competition in the Gulf region’s aviation sector increases.

“Saudi is most welcome; there is a lot of business around for everybody,” Akbar Al Baker told reporters at a press conference in Dubai.

Qatar Airways has no intention of investing in Air Serbia, Al Baker, said, but the two airlines signed a codeshare agreement in January.

“We have invested in airlines which have synergies with Qatar Airways to feed into each other,” Al Baker said.

“We do not have any intention in Air Serbia though we are always open to code share with each other,” he added.