Got this article from Airliners.net. According to the poster this message was printed in MEA’s december/january issue of CedarWings. He also said it was mentioned on Lebanese TV, but could not list sources.
see reply 17
MEA to expand service and join Skyteam in 2004
MEA Chairman Mohamad El-Hout revealed that the company will join Skyteam in 2004 as a result of its alliance with Air France, opening up new prospects for the national airline. “The times require big alliances. Lufthansa, with a fleet of two hundred and fifty aircraft, has pointed to the necessity of broadening its alliances in order to remain viable. What then, would the case be for MEA, with nine planes?” he rationed.
Mr. El Hout said he was surprised by the trend in the Arab market of a proliferation of airline companies, while worldwide the times are prompting airline companies to join together for greater consolidation.
In the next three years, the aviation sector will be shaped by three major axes of alliance. They will probably be as follows: Air France/KLM; British Airways/Iberia; Austrian Airlines and perhaps Cyprus Airways; Lufthansa/SWISS and others.
“The capitalization of Arab companies altogether is less than one American company,” he added
Also check this threads for more speculation and the occaisional tidbit of news:
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1533363/4/
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