Dubai: Emirates, the Dubai Government-owned airline on Sunday denied any merger talks with Abu Dhabi Government-owned Etihad Airways - a rumour circulating in corporate circles for some time, as part of a so-called bailout package by the Abu Dhabi government.
"There are no merger talks taking place between Emirates and Etihad. We have no knowledge of the federal government or Abu Dhabi, or another airline taking a stake in Emirates," an Emirates spokesperson told Gulf News in an e-mailed statement.
Emirates and Etihad are among the world's fastest growing airlines that are in massive expansion mode. Between them they have about 450 aircraft on order.
While Emirates, with 118 aircraft in the fleet, is a profitable carrier, Etihad is yet to break even. Both are operating in a growth market where passenger traffic is expected to grow for at least a decade, if not more, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projections.
The Gulf's aviation market is set to grow further as new airlines are adding to the growing traffic and helping to serve increased passenger flow to and from the region.
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