Qatar Airways threw its weight behind Airbus's latest project by expressing interest in converting up to 20 of its A330 passsenger jets into freighters, while pressing the European planemaker to improve its plans for the all-new A350.

Chief executive Akbar Al Baker, who had threatened to buy converted Boeing aircraft because of a gap in Airbus's cargo strategy, welcomed the planemaker's decision to launch an A330 "passenger-to-freight" option at last month's Singapore Air Show and said the two sides were in talks about a potential order.

He expressed confidence that Airbus and Boeing would iron out recent high-profile difficulties with aircraft production but said he remained unhappy with the performance, weight and capacity of Airbus's planned 370-seat carbon-fibre A350-1000.

Qatar Airways is the largest customer of the A350.</s>DUBAI: Qatar Airways has made Doha a global hub in just a few years, but barring it from Gulf states’ airspace threatens its position as a major transcontinental carrier, experts say.

Along with its Gulf peers — Dubai’s Emirates Airlines and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad — Qatar’s national carrier has captured a sizable portion of transit travel, capitalising on the Gulf’s central geographic location.

But political differences between Qatar and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Egypt, exploded last week into a full-blown regional crisis, including severing air links.

The measures meant cancelling dozens of daily flights by Qatar Airways and carriers from those countries, and also mean Qatari aircraft have to make long diversions, mainly around Bahrain and the vast airspace of Saudi Arabia.

“The impact is already bad because it has driven up flight times and therefore costs. As the airspace tightens,

 the problem grows much worse,” said aviation analyst Addison Schonland from the US-based AirInsight.

“Operationally, this is a constraint for the airline that is almost certainly now seeing its profits cut deeply,” he

 added.

Qatar is almost completely encircled by Bahraini airspace that covers a large part of Gulf waters, and its planes usually cross Saudi airspace on their way to the rest of the Middle East, Africa and South America.

Instead, Qatari planes are now using Iran’s airspace to get to Europe and skirting the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula to avoid Saudi territory.

The flight time for a Qatar Airways trip to Sao Paulo in Brazil, for example, has increased by around two hours, according to flight detecting websites.

Flights to North Africa are now travelling over Iran and Turkey towards the Mediterranean, instead of flying more directly over Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

However, flights to Europe appear largely unaffected as they continue to use the Iran route, with a just small diversion to avoid Bahraini airspace.

The Islamic republic has opened its airspace to around 100 more Qatari flights daily, increasing Iranian air traffic by 17 percent.

“For the future, Qatar flights’ routes and fuel burn will be increased as a result of this,” said aviation analyst Kyle

 Bailey.

“Future long-haul reservations will come down, because even with the high service and excellent amenities, who wants to sit for longer on an airplane?” he said.

About 90 percent of Qatar Airways traffic through Doha is transit, according to a report by CAPA Centre for Aviation.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE represent the two largest markets for Qatar Airways, said Bailey.

Losing these “will no doubt be devastating to the carrier’s financial bottom line, wiping out about 30 percent of revenue,” he said.

Qatar Airways is also the largest foreign carrier operating in the UAE, and the fifth overall after the country’s own airlines, according to the CAPA report.

Part of this transit traffic is likely to be scooped up by Qatar Airways’ regional competitors Emirates and Etihad, experts say.

“No question about it. Especially Emirates because they have the A380 (superjumbo) capacity to catch the traffic without even a hiccup,” said Schonland.

“There is no doubt that Emirates and Etihad would surely be reaping the benefits… In the long term, the increased passenger loads on the other carriers may push up demand causing ticket prices to go up on the other carriers,” said Bailey.

The two UAE carriers have wide global networks, and together with Qatar Airways have drawn the ire of European and US legacy carriers who accused them of benefiting from state subsidies to expand into their traditional markets.

But Emirates and Etihad, as well as other carriers from countries involved such as the UAE’s flydubai and Air Arabia, will also lose out with the suspension of their Doha routes.

“There can be few winners” from the ban, according to the CAPA analysis.

Contrary to the argument that Emirates and Etihad might boost their numbers of transit passengers, CAPA argued that the ban affects the reputation of Gulf aviation in general.

“The nuances of the ban are too particular for the public to understand, but the broader shadow it creates spreads widely,” it said.

“Amidst growing security concerns and the existing laptop ban, passengers are unlikely to dig in to the reason for this ban. Gulf aviation becomes less attractive for all,” it added.

The United States and Britain banned laptop and tablet computers on flights from certain Middle Eastern and Turkish airports in March for security reasons.</s>By AFP

THERAN: Iran has sent five planes of food to Qatar, Iran's national carrier told AFP on Sunday, days after Gulf countries cut off air and other transport links to the emirate.

"So far five planes carrying perishable food items such as fruit and vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent today," Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi said.

"We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand" from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid.

Three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of food were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying.

The port of Dayyer is Iran's closest port to Qatar.

In the biggest diplomatic crisis in the region in years, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, plus Egypt and Yemen, on Monday announced they were cutting all ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism.

Iran has urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute.

The Islamic republic has also opened its airspace to about 100 more Qatari flights a day, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatari planes from their airpace.

The new flights have increased Iranian air traffic by 17 percent, the official state news agency has reported.</s>The air embargo imposed on Qatar only applies to airlines from Qatar or registered there, the United Arab Emirates Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain issued identical statements on the air embargo, which came into effect when Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism".

The embargo bans "all Qatari aviation companies and aircraft registered in the state of Qatar" from landing or transiting through the airspace of the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, according to the statements published by the national agencies of the three countries.

The ban does not apply to aviation companies and aircraft not registered in Qatar and the three neighbouring countries, and which wish to cross their airspace to and from Qatar, they said.

Qatar Airways Monday called on the UN's aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organization, to declare the Gulf boycott illegal and a violation of a 1944 convention on international air transport.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said the move by Saudi Arabia and its allies was an "illegal blockade".

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are among several countries which last week announced the suspension of all ties to Qatar over what they say is the state's support for extremist groups and its political proximity to Shiite Iran.</s>SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Iran could become just the second team to advance through qualifying for the 2018 World Cup — after Brazil — while China and Qatar could be officially eliminated from contention in Asian qualifiers this week.

Should Iran, four points clear at the top of Group A, defeat Uzbekistan in Tehran in front of what should be a capacity crowd of 100,000 on Monday night, then it will secure a spot with two games remaining.

"We know there is still work to do but we have worked hard to get in a good position," Queiroz, who took the job in 2011, told The Associated Press. "We don't always have the same preparations that other big Asian countries have so it will be a great achievement to make it to the World Cup again."

Iran has conceded just six goals in seven games in the third round of qualification, from which the top two teams in both groups get automatic spots at Russia 2018. The two third-place finishers enter a playoff series.

"It will not be easy against Uzbekistan but we hope we can do it," Queiroz said. "We have been ranked as the No. 1 Asian team by FIFA for over four years and we have more players in Europe than ever before."

The Taeguk Warriors sit in second, four points below Iran and one above Uzbekistan, but a series of indifferent performances has raised the possibility of missing out on the World Cup for the first time since 1982.

Against Qatar — the recent diplomatic rift in the region meant that Korea from United Arab Emirates to Doha via Kuwait on Saturday — defeat would see the team's German coach Uli Stielike come under increasing pressure.

"The result was not good against Iraq but the atmosphere in the team is fine," Son Heung-min, who scored 21 goals in the English Premier League season with Tottenham Hotspur. "I also did not play well against Iraq but we are preapring well for Qatar and we all know how important it is."

Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, is last in Group A and already unable to finish in the top two in the group. Failure to win will officially end its already slim hopes of taking the playoff spot.

In the other Group A game on Tuesday, Syria hosts China in the neutral venue of Malaysia. Syria has an outside chance of third place and is four points behind Uzbekistan.

China must win or its faint hopes of automatic qualification will end, and even the play-offs could be out of reach.

"It is totally within our capabilities to defeat Syria," China coach Marcello Lippi said after his team thrashed the Philippines 8-1 in a friendly last week. "If we lose to Syria both at home and away, then we deserve to be eliminated."</s>By The Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar says it has begun shipping cargo through to Oman to bypass Gulf countries that have cut off sea routes to the tiny, energy rich nation.

Qatar’s port authority published video Monday showing a ship arriving at Doha’s Hamad Port from Oman’s port of Sohar.

Typically, cargo for Qatar stops at Dubai’s massive deep-water Jebel Ali port, then gets put on smaller boats heading to Doha. But since June 5, the UAE has joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in cutting off sea traffic to Qatar as part of the nations cutting diplomatic ties.

Qatar’s port authority says its cargo will go through Sohar, as well as Oman’s port at Salalah.

Meanwhile, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency has said two Iranian navy vessels will stop off in Oman soon.</s>TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has sent five planes of food to Qatar, Iran’s national carrier told AFP on Sunday, days after Gulf countries cut off air and other transport links to the emirate.

“So far five planes carrying perishable food items such as fruit and vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tons of cargo, while another plane will be sent today,” Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi said.

“We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand” from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid.

Three ships loaded with 350 ton of food were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying.

The port of Dayyer is Iran’s closest port to Qatar.

In the biggest diplomatic crisis in the region in years, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, plus Egypt and Yemen, on Monday announced they were cutting all ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism.

Iran has urged Qatar and neighboring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute.

The Islamic republic has also opened its airspace to about 100 more Qatari flights a day, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatari planes from their air space.

The new flights have increased Iranian air traffic by 17 percent, the official state news agency has reported.</s>DOHA: Qatar has launched two new shipping services to Omani ports after other Gulf states severed ties with Doha last week, raising concerns over food supplies to import-dependent Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries cut diplomatic as well as travel and trade ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups. Doha denies the charges.

The severing of air, sea and land transport links has closed off key import routes for Qatar and its population of around 2.7 million people.

Thousands of shipping containers destined for Qatar are still stuck at Dubai's Jebel Ali port, according to Qatari importers. Iran and Turkey have flown in food supplies to Qatar as the gas-rich country seeks other sources.

Oman is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council but takes a relatively independent diplomatic approach to the other five states in the bloc, particularly towards Iran.

The two new services will each run three times a week between Qatar's Hamad Port and Omani ports of Sohar in the north and Salalah in the south, Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani), a Qatari shareholding company established in 2009, announced on Sunday.

Doha has said the severing of trade and transport ties are hurting the country's inhabitants.</s>In a bid to reach out, Iran has sent five planes of vegetables to Qatar which has been boycotted by several Gulf countries. So far five planes carrying... vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent on Sunday," Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi said.

We will continue deliveries as long as there is demand" from Qatar, Noushabadi added, without mentioning if these deliveries were exports or aid, AFP reported.

Three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of fruit and vegetables were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying.

 The port of Dayyer is Iran's closest port to Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, plus Egypt and Yemen, had announced last week that they were cutting all ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism. Iran has urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries to engage in dialogue to resolve their dispute.

The Islamic republic has also opened its airspace to about 100 more Qatari flights a day, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatari planes from their airspace.</s>DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Qatar says it has begun shipping cargo through to Oman to bypass Gulf countries that have cut off sea routes to the tiny, energy rich nation.

Qatar's port authority published video Monday showing a ship arriving at Doha's Hamad Port from Oman's port of Sohar.

Typically, cargo for Qatar stops at Dubai's massive deep-water Jebel Ali port, then gets put on smaller boats heading to Doha. But since June 5, the UAE has joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in cutting off sea traffic to Qatar as part of the nations cutting diplomatic ties.

Qatar's port authority says its cargo will go through Sohar, as well as Oman's port at Salalah.

Meanwhile, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency has said two Iranian navy vessels will stop off in Oman soon.
Iran sends five 90-tonne air cargo payloads of perishable food to Qatar. More shipments by air and sea are underway.