British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) could source extra widebody capacity from fellow Oneworld member and IAG International Airlines Group equity partner Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International).

In an interview with Bloomberg, chief executive Akbar al Baker said the Qataris were evaluating the situation and were looking at cutting frequencies on select routes so as to free up aircraft that could then be wet-leased to British Airways.

As with other Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 operators around the world, British Airways has had to withdraw affected B787 aircraft to undergo engine refitments resulting in a capacity deficit in its longhaul operations.

Qatar Airways has already come to British Airways' assistance once before - in July 2017 when the UK carrier wet-leased nine Qatari A320-200s to cover for a crew strike.

For its part, Qatar Airways is still reeling from a near year-long embargo by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and several other aligned states. Last month, al Baker confirmed the blockade saw his carrier register a “substantial” loss for its latest financial year.

To mitigate overcapacity brought on by its banning from each of the four Arab state's markets, Qatar Airways has increasingly pursued wet-lease placements with other carriers and is actively establishing equity partnerships in other countries. Among the more recent is Air Italy (Milan Malpensa), where Qatar Airways owns 49%, as well as a proposed new carrier in India where al Baker has said an application will be submitted shortly.

On the topic of India, al Baker has denied having any interest in investing in Air India (AI, Delhi International) despite numerous press reports to the contrary. He has, however, reiterated his interest in acquiring equity in budget carrier IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International).

"Rahul Bhatia (IndiGo cofounder) is a dear friend. He has a very well-run airline. I have said many times and will say again that if there was an opportunity for us to take a large stake in IndiGo, QA will be interested. But that has to happen prior to me launching an airline (in India). Once I launch an airline there, then I will not be interested in anybody’s shares," al Baker told The Times of India.