Australia is benefiting from multi-billion dollar growth plans being pursued by three major Middle East airlines.
Australia is benefiting from multi-billion dollar growth plans being pursued by three major Middle East airlines.
When Qantas and Emirates announced their global aviation partnership last week, it illustrated how the three international airlines based in the Gulf States are changing the industry.
Dubai-based Emirates is the world’s largest international airline, with 182 aircraft serving 125 destinations in 74 countries.
Snapping at its heels is Qatar Airways, which has been named airline of the year for the past two years in the respected Skytrax survey.
It has a fleet of 109 aircraft serving 117 destinations and, like Emirates, has plans for further rapid growth.
Qatar started Perth services in July and since then has added Kilimanjaro and Mombasa to its network, with plans for Yangon and Belgrade later this year – illustrating just how wide its network extends. It has 250 aircraft on order, at a cost of $US50 billion, and plans to service 170 destinations within three years.
The region’s third major carrier is Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates.
It began operations only nine years ago and since then has acquired a fleet of 67 aircraft serving 86 destinations.
Perth-based travellers are direct beneficiaries of the competition between the Gulf airlines.
Emirates recently hit the 10th anniversary of its Perth-Dubai service and, from December, will fly three times daily.
That announcement came just after Qatar launched its Perth-Doha service and said it planned to increase its frequency to daily flights in December.
Etihad does not yet fly to Perth (though it is evaluating this possibility) but with a 10 per cent shareholding in Virgin Australia, it has indirectly boosted competition in the local market.
Corporate Travel Management general manager WA Glenn Wilcox described Qatar as a significant addition to the market, a decade after Emirates opened up Europe as a one-stop destination.
Apart from China Southern, Qatar is the first new full-service international carrier to use Perth airport in 10 years.
“The Middle East carriers are the ones driving forward and adding destinations,” Mr Wilcox said.
Mr Wilcox also applauded the Qantas-Emirates partnership, saying “it’s a very big boost for their international operations”.
Airport expansions
The phenomenal growth of the Gulf airlines is matched by their investment in extra airport capacity (see table).
Dubai International Airport’s passenger traffic reached 51 million last year, driven by the city’s growth as a commercial and tourism destination (notwithstanding the financial upheaval during the GFC and the dramatic slowdown in growth since then) and its status as a major aviation hub.
To put this in context, Dubai handles four times more traffic than Perth Airport (which had 12.6 million passengers last year) and is the fourth busiest in the world for international passenger movements.
Not content with that status, the Concourse 3 development under way will lift Dubai’s capacity to 75 million passengers a year.
The partnership with Qantas will add to the airport’s growth, since Qantas will move its hub for European flights from Singapore to Dubai.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has described the Emirates deal as “the most significant partnership the Qantas Group has ever formed”.
It provides Qantas passengers with a direct gateway to 30 European cities and also allows the airline to restructure its Asian services via Singapore and Hong Kong.
“Qantas’ Asian services will no longer be a subsidiary of the Kangaroo route,” Mr Joyce said.
While Emirates is the market leader and has expansive growth plans, Qatar is looking to grow even faster.
The airline’s plans are backed by the construction of New Doha International Airport, at a cost of more than $US15 billion.
Like Hong Kong’s famous international airport, the new airport is built largely on reclaimed land, in the Arabian Gulf.
The airport’s stage 1 development will have a capacity of 28 million passengers while stage 2 will lift capacity to 50 million just a few years later.
Adding to the scale of the overall project is the construction of a separate terminal for Qatar’s royal family, which on its own would be the envy of many cities around the world.
Speaking during his visit to Perth in July, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Bakar talked up the significance of the airline running the airport. “It is designed not just for show but for efficient use,” Mr Al Bakar said.
He expects 85 per cent of passengers will be transiting and therefore the airport has been designed to make flight connections as efficient as possible, with a target of 35 minutes.
The airport’s features – apart from its enormous scale and striking curved roof lines – include an internal light rail system to speed up passenger movements.
However, its record has been blemished by repeated delays – indicating that Australia is not the only country where large construction projects suffer delays and cost blowouts.
Originally due to open in 2010, the start date had been pushed back to December this year. That is, until two weeks ago, when Mr Al Bakar disclosed the opening would be delayed to the middle of next year.
Abu Dhabi International Airport, which was voted by passengers as the Middle East’s best airport in this year’s Skytrax award, is also pursuing substantial growth.
It recently awarded a contract for its $2.9 billion Midfield Terminal expansion, which will more than double capacity to 30 million passengers.
Mark Beyer travelled to Doha as a guest of Qatar Airways.
• Next week: Australian businesses in the Gulf.
