Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - Star Alliance not interested in middle east carriers?

From this link:

http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=15002

Star CEO Jaan Albrecht says, "But we don't need a hub in the desert. We are not talking to Middle East carriers about joining Star,"

My hopes of QR joining are fading.

I think this guy is not saying the whole truth: Non of the ME carriers are interested in joining his alliance. EK and EY and QR and GF are doing it their own way and they have expressed many times that joining any alliance is not on the table.

The truth is that more and more, the "global leaders" such as UA and LH will become less relevant. It's the middle east powerhouses like EK, QR, etc that will become the aviation giants of this century. The "hub in the desert" is actually exactly what Star needs if it wants global growth.

Well MS(Egyptair) is hardly a hub in green hills! There is a "desert hub" if I've ever seen one AND part of *A! :confused:

Hub in the desert???!
Repeatedly, GF, QR, EK and EY have both stated that they are not interested in joining an alliance (although I have my doubts about GF with oneworld and QR with *A). Those 'desert hubs' will be handling around 100m passengers annually by 2010 or so (rough estimate).
I think that the CEO meant he doesn't want a hub in the middle of nowhere to join (i.e. it should have strong O&D).
CAI will become increasingly important (or should become), esp when T3 opens. If played right, CAI/MS could rival the Gulf super-hubs (I wish!).
PS-CedarJet-what do you think of the new MEA A320s?

I wonder if the GCC countries have jointly made this decision to stay away from alliances. I think once one of them starts the rest will follow. Or may be they are waiting to see if Elal joins and then join one of the remaining alliances.

QR has a lot of Star codeshares.. that's a good sign in my book.

I wonder if the GCC countries have jointly made this decision to stay away from alliances. I think once one of them starts the rest will follow. Or may be they are waiting to see if Elal joins and then join one of the remaining alliances.

Why would GCC airlines wait to see if El Al joins an alliance? Only RJ flies to TLV.

QR has a lot of Star codeshares.. that's a good sign in my book.

Yeah but their chairman stated many times that his airline is not interested in joining any alliance

Why would GCC airlines wait to see if El Al joins an alliance? Only RJ flies to TLV.

So that they do not join that alliance.

i think the 'hub in the desert' comment is rude and patronising.. what an offensive thing to say

So that they do not join that alliance.


I'm sorry, but your statement does not make much sense. First off, EK and QR, the 900lb Gorilla's in the Gulf have always stated that they have no desire to join an alliance. Further, an alliance is a very tightly controlled club. You don't just invite XYZ airline to join without all existing members being on board with the plan.