Emirates boss denies reports of merger with Etihad

© Ritu Jethani

Two “restructuring” transit-reliant airlines, hubs an hour apart by road in the same country. There can be few in the industry that have not asked whether Emirates (which also confirmed job losses) and Etihad would one day stop competing and instead pool resources. And although it has now been officially denied, it seems unlikely the speculation will stop. Tomorrow, Etihad’s soon-to-be-gone boss James Hogan opens the World Cargo Symposium event in Abu Dhabi – it’ll be interesting to hear what he has to say.