American accuses Qatar Airways CEO of being "sexist and ageist" after comments

"The remarks were made informally at a private gala dinner, following comments about the Qatar Airways cabin service and were in no way meant to cause offense".

In Dublin, Ireland, last week to help launch a new Dublin-Doha route, Al Baker told an audience that "the average age of my cabin crew is only 26 years".

In Wednesday's statement, released by a communications firm for Qatar Airways, Al Baker said the remarks "were made informally at a private gala dinner, following comments about the Qatar Airways cabin service, and were in no way meant to cause offense".

American Airlines has notified Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways that it will not extend its codeshare partnerships with both Middle East carriers beyond their expiration dates of March 2018, American confirmed Wednesday.

"Cabin crew are the public face of all airlines, and I greatly respect their hard work and professionalism", Sheik Al Baker said on Wednesday.

American CEO Doug Parker described the interest in buying 10 per cent of the carrier as "puzzling at best and concerning at worst" leading Al Baker to respond last week that his rival was "frightened" by the proposal.

The Qatar Airways CEO said his remarks were made at "a time of strong rivalry" with the US airlines. It sent the notifications on June 29 in protest of what it and the other major USA carriers characterize as illegal subsidies from the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the respective OneWorld alliance partners.

A long-running campaign spearheaded by American, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines-supported by many of their union groups-alleges Gulf carriers violate the terms of those Open Skies treaties because they benefit from large government subsidies that enable them to cut prices and expand their networks.

Al Baker previous year was asked about complaints by US airline chiefs - Delta's Richard Anderson among them - that carriers from the Persian Gulf region use government subsidies to unfairly fuel growth. "Sheik Al Baker is a well-educated man and I think it's corporate damage control".

According to Bloomberg, The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, a coalition of the three United States airlines, said the remarks were "misogynistic and demeaning".