The first was the "budget alliance" between Air Asia and Jetstar Airways as reported by @Simpliflying (click here for the full details), which is an alliance between Air Asia and Jetstar to pool Ground Handling, spare parts procurement, joint aircraft design specifications and joint aircraft procurement. This is very similar to the ATLAS (Air France, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Iberia and Sabena) and KSSU (KLM, SAS, Swiss Air and UTA) in the 1970s which in addition to what the "budget alliance" is proposing included maintenance.
The second is the demise of the First Class as reported by @RunwayGirl (click here for the full details), this is similar to what a few European Legacy airlines did in the 1980s. The first Class product was removed and some of their aircraft were configured into Business and Economy. Among these were KLM and Lufthansa and a few others.
I wonder what the future have in store for us as an industry which is already Deja Vu
The above two events happened in response to economic pressures, the first was the high cost of operating wide bodies and the second occurred in a period of high inflation.
Perhaps we will see in the Middle East and the MENA region a One Cargo Hub similar to the "Asia One" established by Federal Express in the Philippines in 1995. Could be Dubai.
ReplyDeleteThe new Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali, has a huge cargo facility and is connected to Jebel Ali Free Zone by a dedicated road to ensure quick transfer of goods and cargo between the airport and the free zone
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