Emirates eyes changes amid 'gathering storm' of low-cost long-haul rivals

Emirates is stripping out costs from its business as it adapts to weaker markets and a stronger dollar and the rise of low-cost long-haul rivals, the carrier's president said Thursday. Changing economic conditions are forcing state-backed Gulf airlines, who have moved into many foreign markets from Asia to South America in recent years, to revise their business models and slow their once rampant growth in capacity. "We are subject to market changes like everybody else is," president Tim Clark said. One of the changes is the rise of lower-cost long-haul travel, he said, describing it as a "gathering storm". Clark said: "The way people travel, their decisions for travelling, the amount of money they're prepared to pay, new entrants coming to market, long-range single aisles, it's all changing". <br/>