Emirates, Etihad merger plan is up to shareholders: report

Any merger plan with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is for shareholders to decide and no such development is likely any time soon, Emirates President Tim Clark told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.

“That is in the hands of the shareholders,” he said, adding, “On the short-term, medium-term horizon, I would say no.”

Emirates is working with Etihad to look at areas of common ground without mixing up the brands and entering into competing areas, Clark added.

He said bookings this summer are “very, very strong” and that ticket prices have risen from last year, but the carrier’s outlook for 2018 is facing the double whammy of the rising dollar as well as rising fuel costs leaving its outlook “cloudy".

Emirates reported a net income of $1.1 billion in the 12 months ended March 31 as higher oil prices spurred a revival in travel in oil-based Middle Eastern economies.