Air Arabia, Wizz Air among budget airlines gaining share in Gulf hub shift

Air Arabia did not even serve Abu Dhabi, home of Etihad Airways, before the pandemic hit. Today, the budget airline is the second largest at the United Arab Emirates hub, and a symbol of the shift underway at some of the Gulf’s busiest airports. FlyDubai, Flynas, IndiGo, and Wizz Air, along with Air Arabia, have all participated in a dramatic share shift to low-cost carriers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and — to a lesser extent — Doha. The three cities are the largest airline hubs in the Gulf and traditionally the domains of legacy network carriers Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, respectively. A new analysis from OAG finds that budget airlines have expanded their share of seats in all three hubs since 2019. The biggest shift has occurred in Abu Dhabi where discounters have gained nearly 19 points of the market for a 25% share this year. Low-cost carriers grew to 25% of seats in Dubai, and nearly 6% in Doha; an 8 point and 1 point share gain, respectively. Over the same period, Etihad lost nearly 20 points of seat share in Abu Dhabi, Emirates 9 points in Dubai, and Qatar 4 points in Doha, according to Diio by Cirium schedules. “It’s clear that while the legacy carriers have built these hubs, largely on the back of long-haul international connectivity, they have paved the way for [low-cost carriers] to now exploit a more established regional market,” according to OAG.<br/>