Qatar Airways & Italy's Meridiana Part 1: Similar to Etihad-Alitalia, but different - and smaller

On 04-Feb-2016, Qatar Airways and Italian leisure airline Meridiana disclosed that they are working on a "potential partnership project" that could include a minority equity stake of up to 49% in Meridiana and a commercial partnership. Understandably, this immediately drew a comparison with Etihad Airways' investing in Alitalia and the two forming a partnership.

The comparison probably ends there. Although both cases feature a Gulf airline investing in an Italian airline, the motivations are different. The potential gains between Qatar and Meridiana are far smaller than between Etihad and Alitalia, largely a result of Meridiana being so small: it is the fourth largest airline in the Italian domestic market but with only a 6% share. Internationally, it is the 22nd largest in winter. Qatar will not be required to input as much work into Meridiana as Etihad into Alitalia. Meridiana, however, is no walk in the park: it has not reported financial results since its losses for 2013, but it has been restructuring for some years.