- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
- Qatar Airways
These are the main airlines of the Middle East and they have certain characteristics in common which are worth mentioning.
To begin with, they show enormous expansion, which is remarkable in internationally recessionary conditions. This ability to expand despite adverse economic conditions may be due to the fact that they are all national carriers and so they have the backing of their respective national governments. The economies of these Middle Eastern countries are based largely on oil harvesting and sale. Oil is a product that experiences considerable demand and its sales volumes remain very high internationally. The financial prosperity brought about the oil industries of these countries may be the main reason why they are able to order more than 100 planes at a time (Qatar Airways and Etihad), which is unprecedented in commercial aviation history, and also why they offer such a high standard of service to their passengers.
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Another issue specific to the aviation industry is fuel. Fuel is one of the biggest expense items on a flight budget and the amount of fuel required by an aircraft has to be carefully calculated before each flight. As the nationalized carriers of their respective governments, the Middle Eastern airlines are based in countries which produce and refine oil, so there is no shortage of aircraft fuel and oil products generally are much cheaper in those countries than elsewhere in the world (as an example, in Saudi Arabia bottled water is substantially more expensive than petrol/gasoline). Any saving on fuel by an airline is going to result in a massively reduced expense budget. This is an advantage that airlines in most other parts of the world simply do not have, where they have to rely on imported fuel instead.
Recessionary conditions also mean fewer passengers, and the people who do still take flights may tend to shop around for their tickets more carefully. Long-held brand loyalties may be abandoned in favor of lower fares. The fact that these Middle Eastern airlines offer such excellent service and extensive route coverage makes them a viable alternative to the other major airlines of the world. Passenger numbers indicate that this may indeed be what is happening, and has been for some years now.
Islamic centre in Doha, Qatar.
Another important factor is that two of these airlines, namely Etihad and Emirates, are not members of any of the international airline alliances. This is interesting because if these Middle Eastern airlines do achieve a very large stake in the international air travel market, they may decide to form their own alliance. A telling statement was made by a senior company official in Emirates Airlines shortly after they decided not to join Star Alliance in 2000:
“Your ability to react in the marketplace is hindered because you need a consensus from your alliance partners.”
This attitude may be related, once again, to the recessionary environment and also to the phenomenal success of the Middle Eastern airlines. In a recession, in which several service providers may be contesting the same limited target market and the service providers may be strapped for cash, alliances tend to be more likely. However, as long as an individual service provider remains in a financially and strategically superior position to its rivals, it may not really have any incentive to partner with them, unless they can offer an increased customer base. The approach of the Middle Eastern airlines to expanding their customer bases, however, seems to be more about direct and immense capital investment in their own operations than forming coalitions with other airlines.
Zubara Fort in Qatar.
The operation of large airlines in the Middle East has caused many passengers to route their flights through the Middle Eastern bases of those airlines, instead of the airports in Europe and the UK that were used in the past. This has led to a decline in traffic for those European and UK airports. One Middle Eastern airline, Emirates, has been accused publicly by Air France and Qantas of receiving inordinate financial assistance from its national government (which is also its owner) and of being in unfair cooperation with its national aviation regulatory authority (which is, incidentally, also owned by the UAE government, as is the UAE airport authority). Emirates, however, has asserted that they have received only $80 million from their national government since they commenced operations in 1985, and that this sum is far less than what other national airlines have received. This issue is potentially emotive as it involves international market share and, therefore, future revenue.
The oldest of the three main airlines in the Middle East is Emirates, which entered service in 1985. Although they have not been in business anywhere near as long as the major Western airlines, these Middle Eastern airlines are posing a serious challenge to the dominance of the latter and they are already major players themselves internationally. While other airlines in the world are thrashing out mergers, vying for a dwindling recessionary market and trying to cut operating costs, the main airlines of the Middle East are expanding their route bases and ordering planes like cheap T-shirts. The next decade or two should show us what the future of commercial passenger aviation in the world is going to look like, and it seems that it may be a lot more Middle Eastern than it has been in the past.
A glass of traditional Emirati tea.
These Middle Eastern airlines all have outstanding safety track records. The only accident between all three of them involved an Emirates plane which failed to take off properly, in 2009. There were no injuries. It is therefore the case that in a combined operating history of 52 years, no passenger of these airlines has ever sustained an injury in an accident. The only plane to be lost was a Qatar Airways aircraft which was damaged in a hangar fire in 2007. Despite the pessimistic attitude that some people may have towards the Middle East, there has never been an incident of terrorism on any flight operated by any of these airlines. If you are considering using one of these airlines, beware of prejudice when making your enquiries. Alternatively, you can contact us for reliable travel service and prompt arrangements.
