Saudi Arabia's Domestic Market, The Final Stretch.

When everyone almost forgot about the two operating licenses that GACA awarded to Qatar Airways and Gulf Air-Abdel Hadi Al-Qahtani and Sons Co in late 2012. 

During the Dubai 2013 Qatar Airways announced it will launch Al Maha Airways in the first half of 2014 using aircraft from Qatar Airways. However, the management of Al Maha Airways will be independent from the airline and staff will be directly hired.

Similarly, Al Qahtani Group announced the launch of Saudi Gulf Airlines based in Dammam. Gulf Air denied that it has applied for or was awarded an operating license by GACA. Gulf Air is a consultant to the new airline assisting it in obtaining GACA approvals. The airline will start operating in Winter 2014. To date Saudi Gulf Airlines have not indicated the type of equipment it will be operating.

Both airlines will start operating to major cities (Riyadh and Jeddah), second tier cities, regional and international route as they develop.

How much coordination, and there will be some, between Al Maha Airways and its owner Qatar Airways is something to look for in the near future. 

As we await developments of the new airlines; Nasair the low cost carrier has followed in the footsteps of flydubai and will introduce business class on some of its routes, primarily for religious tourism and eventually for corporate clients.

Flydubai: From a Low Cost to a Hybrid Airline

Flydubai is introducing a Business Class (click here for full story) as of October 2013 with a soft start on selected flights in August 2013 after the delivery of its first two (2) class aircraft. A twelve (12) seats at 42 inches pitch dedicated cabin with 900 hours of IFE on a 12.1 inches HD touch screen. A full Business Class service with a lounge, dedicated check in, priority baggage collection and other amenities. Flydubai just changed its business model from a low cost carrier to a hybrid if not legacy airline following in the footsteps of Bahrain Air. Who will bear the cost of this offering remains to be seen. Are we looking at a low cost business model? not really looking at what Flydubai is offering.


The reason for the change, passenger feedback!!! Ah well, why would a passenger looking for low fares want to pay for a Business Class service. I guess some passengers wanting to interline with Emirates flying in Business would want that.

To put things in context, Flydubai and Emirates passengers can book flights that start with one airline and continue on the other (interline) on either website. Passengers and luggage are transferred from one terminal to the other free of charge.

The main beneficiary of this change is Emirates, they will get additional Business Class feed from the growing network (now at 60 destinations) of Flydubai especially destinations not served by Emirates into theirs. I am sure there will be some schedule tweaking  from these destinations to optimize connecting times.

Dubai has always evolved and Flydubai should not be any different. Only time will tell how this move will impact costs at Flydubai and to a certain extent Emirates.

All Happening in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates Aviation sector is by far the most dynamic and vibrant in the region both the GCC and the wider MENA. No day passes without an amazing activity.

Emirates Airlines is the most valuable airline brand in the world for 2012, ahead of Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa at USD 3.7 Billions. The airlines continues as the role model and bench mark for its regional competitors. The airline signed a 10 years code share agreement with Qantas, an agreement that has far reaching implications in Asia and to oneworld.

In Seattle, Tim Clark said that Emirates will buy another 40 A380s to bring the total to 130 aircraft. One problem is space at Dubai Airport. The airline will become the largest airbus customer. On the same note Emirates started its A380 service to Melbourne this Thursday, 27 September 2012. He also told Boeing that the first B777-300ER will be retired by 2017 and the airline would like to replace the fleet with a new updated B777. It was a good time to start "bellyaching" to get a new jet started.

On the domestic front, Rotana Jet started its double daily flight to Al Ain from Abu Dhabi Thursday,
27 September 2012, bringing its domestic network to four (4) destinations. Ten (10) days after the inauguration of its daily flight to Fujairah. Rotana Jet is planning flights to Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ruwais.

Air Arabia will fly to Erbil on 14 October, its second Iraq destination. Not to be outdone Flydubai is launching new destinations to Bucharest on 1 October 2012 and Skopje from 18 October 2012.

Etihad Airways announced an increase to daily flights to Istanbul starting 1 January 2013. Two (2) weeks ago Etihad CEO led a team of Etihad Airways and airberlin executives to Boeing to look over the B787.
Both carriers are integrating their B787 programs and streamlining their infrastructure and purchasing activities. Etihad has forty one (41) and airberlin fifteen (15) B787s on order. Etihad has nine (9) B777s
to be delivered in the coming fifteen months.

To top it all the GCAA announced that August 2012 had almost sixty (60) thousands air traffic movements
a 6.9% increase over 2011.

Air Arabia vs flydubai.... Interesting Times

For starter's I have to admit I am an alumni of Air Arabia, I have spent four (4) years there witnessing its expansion, so I may be a little biased.

Air Arabia and flydubai are starting to look more like easyJet and Ryan Air. Starting from the equipment they fly to how they structure their fares.

Air Arabia is well established and is without any doubt the major force in establishing the LCC sector in MENA. The market is where it is because of Air Arabia and in the process it had to fight off almost every legacy airline in the region. It has revolutionized air travel by providing people with affordable air travel, not only at the traditional major destinations but at other under served population centers.

On the other hand flydubai enjoys the backing of the extensive network of Emirates who provides a link to connect with flydubai on its website. It also allows interlining, through check in and baggage handling throughout both networks.

As flydubai's fleet increases and it adds more destinations, it goes into head on competition with Air Arabia. Notwithstanding the wealth and buying power of the population, the UAE market is after all a finite market that is around five (5) to six (6) million people. This prompted the Air Arabia strategy of starting new subsidiary LCCs like Air Arabia Maroc and Air Arabia Egypt.

So the battle will have to be fought not only in the UAE but in the development of the markets in every station they both compete in. flydubai may have a slight advantage by capitalizing on Emirates ability to provide feed and visas, whereas Air Arabia has been present in these markets for years and knows them very well.

There is no doubt that the LCC segment in MENA will develop to eventually become 15% to 20% of the market. Air Arabia will probably remain the top airline in the segment for the coming few years with flydubai catching up as its fleet and network increase.

These are interesting times ahead to watch for as LCCs develop in the MENA region.