Middle East airlines defy the downturn

ABU DHABI – Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline have won over new customers from rivals in Europe and Asia to help the Middle East record the world’s strongest growth last year.



The National newspaper reports that the two airlines are among the fastest growing in the region, which added passenger traffic by 11.2 per cent overall last year.

Middle Eastern airlines ended with growth of 19.2 per cent last month compared with December 2008, a report published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed.

Their gains came at the expense of carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, which are being forced to cede market share in travel between Asia and Europe to the Middle Eastern airlines, which have been offering competitive fares.


“There is a real element of price competition,” said Brian Pearce, the chief economist at the IATA. “The average fare fell further in the Middle East than it has in the industry as a whole.”

While the Middle East includes more than 20 airlines from as far away as North Africa and Sudan, most of the capacity increase is due to Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways.



Last year, Etihad expanded its fleet by 11 aircraft and launched eight new routes – Melbourne, Astana, Istanbul, Athens, Larnaca, Chicago, Cape Town and Hyderabad – for an overall capacity increase of 18 per cent.


By contrast, worldwide capacity fell by 0.7 per cent as airlines in other regions temporarily grounded planes and sent staff on furlough to cope with the decline in demand.