Gulf carriers like Qatar Airways will continue muscle-flexing

Gulf carriers like Qatar Airways will continue muscle-flexing

It’s not the first time Qatar Airways publicly lectured Airbus. And it won’t be the last, with the Middle East accounting for 11% of all plane orders until 2030.

November 16, 2011 8:10 by Precious de Leon

Youth advantage. The Gulf carriers have newer and more efficient airports. Trade unions, which have been known to hamper cost management and progress, are also nonexistent in these parts.

These circumstances place Gulf airlines in a better position within the global airline industry, which is expected to shrink 40 percent in the next year to a mere $4.9 billion–less than a third of 2010 levels, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

IATA also forecasts that Gulf careers will have three times more margins in earnings before interest tax than that of its European counterparts–that’s enough for the likes of Qatar Airways to know they are ruling the roost, wouldn’t you say?

And with the Middle East expected to account for about 11 percent of all airplane orders until at least 2030, looks like we’ll all have to get used to this kind of muscle-flexing.

(image from The Moodie Report)

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Tags: air show, airbus, airline, airshow, Akbar Al-Baker, aviation, boeing, carrier, Dubai, emirates, Qatar airways

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2 Comments

Robert on November 17, 2011 10:49 am

If I am not mistaken, Boeing pulled back the delivery of the 787 so they did not have the same issues that Mr. Al Baker is having with Airbus. Haste makes waste. Also, if Mr. Al Baker knows so much about airplane manufacturing, he should open his own airplane factory and compete. The guy is a blow hard. A rich blow hard, but blow hard non the less. It is kind of sad to think this man is in a place of prominace. Qatar cannot become what it wants to be by spitting in the face of the only two manufacturers it depends on in order to grow. With out the ariline industry these closed off places would be doomed. Once this man realizes the sun does not rise and fall in Doha, his country will have a chance to be looked at in a more soothing light on all fronts. Clearly they have a long way to go. Their labor policy, or lack thereof, is the big leverage. It is funny, if you pay people a working wage, you create a middle class. The middle class buys economy plane tickets where all arilines bread is buttered. More people fly and you buy more planes, have more visitors and grow your economy. I think Boeing and Airbus should black list Qatar airlines and see what happens to the Doha’s plans for growth and world prominace in the M.E. The chinese will nnot have a commercial aircraft that will pass international standards for a decade at least. GOOD LUCK with that!!
MK on November 17, 2011 11:13 am

Let’s just hope that with the rise of their ego, their air fares won’t follow suit!