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The ‘triumvirate’ Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad — which aim expansion into North America and Africa — have become centre of gravity of long-haul, especially through alliances, according to Skift, a travel intelligence company.
“Qatar’s entry into the Oneworld alliance and Emirates’ deal with Qantas are typical of their movements and demonstrate that these airlines are not rogue actors on the scene but the new establishment, as the centre of gravity of long-haul aviation settles in the Gulf region,” Skift said in a report ‘13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013’.
For Qatar Airways, the upside is that it gains access to a significantly broader global network via its Oneworld partners. Its membership in Oneworld will offer the alliance improved east-west routings and connections through the carrier’s geographically fortunate hub in Doha, changing the way much of its traffic flows around the globe, according to Centre for Aviation (Capa).
Since its re-launch in 1997, with a fleet of four aircraft, the carrier has been one of the trend-setters, both for the Middle East and the evolution of the Gulf sixth freedom carriers, and also for global aviation, Capa said.
“As Qatar’s national carrier, the airline has expanded its global reach to more than 125 destinations on all continents. Its fleet has expanded commensurately, reaching more than 120 aircraft in early 2013,” it had said.
Over the next five years, Qatar Airways plans to add between 12 and 15 new destinations per year. The carrier’s network is highly diversified, a combination of short and medium-haul regional routes operated with a mix of A320s and smaller wide-bodies and an increasing amount of long-haul and ultra-long-haul routes, primarily operated with Boeing 777s, Capa said.
Skift said 2012 saw these (three Gulf) airlines acquiring strategic stakes in low-cost carriers and national carriers around the world and entering into code shares and airline alliances.
“Expect even more frenzied activity in 2013 as the three Gulf carriers look to expand into North America and Africa, both directly and indirectly through partnerships,” the report said.
The spectacular rise of the triumvirate of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways mirrors the geopolitical rise of these tiny state actors onto the world stage, riding on a wave of sovereign oil wealth, it said.
All the airlines’ activity also means huge airport hubs, and new ones being built, it said, adding the airports Emirates and Etihad call home are undergoing significant expansions, while Qatar Airways is preparing to all set to move to a brand-new airport.
The report found that Europe’s ongoing debt crisis has left it “powerless” to take the bold actions necessary to prevent it from slipping in the great aviation race.
For the first time since the European renaissance, the locus of travel is moving eastward, and 2013 will continue that inexorable journey. Both consumer and business travel trends are now being defined and tested out in regions other than US and Europe, while travel sector here, especially airlines, is in a race to find the best new fee.
“User experience and its intersection with design is the lens that travel will increasingly be defined by, and regions like Middle East and South East Asia are at the forefront of those trends,” according to Skift.