To feed their hubs, the Gulf carriers are developing extensive route networks in Europe and Asia. Emirates, for example, operates 84 flights a week between Dubai and London -- three times as many as British Airways (BAB) -- as well as serving Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow. Qatar flies to six major European cities, and Etihad flies to five.
Gulf airlines also have become a major force in the fast-growing Indian market. "They have a strong intent to capture traffic on key routes from India to [Britain] and the U.S.," wrote JP Morgan analysts Peter Negline and Wai-Shin Chan in a recent research report. That growth has put pressure on Indian carriers, especially startups such as Jet Airways, the analysts said.
All the Gulf airlines are government-owned, fueling suspicions that they benefit from subsidies. Air France-KLM (AKH) Vice-Chairman Leo van Wijk even confronted Emirates President Tim Clark at an industry conference last year, demanding to know how Emirates could afford the $37 billion worth of planes it has on order.
Clark says Emirates gets no subsidies, apart from a $10 million startup grant in 1985.
20/04/06 BusinessWeek/Carol Matlack
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Friday, April 21, 2006
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Mideast Airlines develop extensive networks in Europe and Asia
Friday, April 21, 2006
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