US-Gulf airline feud casts a shadow on Iata conference

Miami

GLOBAL airlines buoyed by a record profit forecast are also grappling with how to mend a rift between the largest US carriers and their rivals in the Persian Gulf.

The annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) began on Monday in Miami with a prediction for 2015 earnings to soar almost 80 per cent to US$29.3 billion. Within hours, Qatar Airways said that the US airlines were mounting a protectionist threat and Iata's chief acknowledged the pressures unleashed by the dispute.