European airlines cut back Asia routes as Gulf carriers offer cheaper flights
European airlines have cut back on routes to Asia since the pandemic, bowing to tough competition from state-backed Middle Eastern carriers that have convinced passengers to fly via their hub airports with cheaper fares. Airlines flew 22mn seats between Europe and Asia last year, down 26% on 2019 and the lowest number in at least 14 years, other than during the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry data provider Cirium. Travel between Europe and Asia has been complicated by the slow reopening of many Asian economies following the coronavirus pandemic. European airlines are also banned from flying over Russian airspace, resulting in longer journeys to much of east Asia. But the bosses of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM said their airlines have slashed their direct flights to many major Asian economies because of competition from Gulf airlines, which often offer cheaper fares for passengers willing to catch a connecting flight in the Middle East. “We have minimal service now to south-east Asia. We’ve lost all that traffic to Middle Eastern carriers, and in the financial situation we have today and our cost structure, and the advantage those carriers have, we won’t get it back,” Air France-KLM CE Ben Smith told an industry conference last month. Lufthansa’s Carsten Spohr agreed, and added that the German carrier used to fly directly to 14 destinations in Asia, but now only flies to Singapore and Bangkok. “It’s not just talk, we lost connectivity to Asia, because it’s all now going through . . . government-owned hubs,” he said at the conference. Dubai’s Emirates, Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad are all government owned and have revolutionised intercontinental flying over the past 25 years by turning the Gulf into a main stopover destination. As well as competitive pricing, they have also invested in premium products and services that have set new standards for in-flight hospitality. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, secretary-general of the Arab Air Carriers Organization, said that the Gulf airlines were more competitive than their European rivals because of their “better cost base and better holistic product”.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-04-03/general/european-airlines-cut-back-asia-routes-as-gulf-carriers-offer-cheaper-flights
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European airlines cut back Asia routes as Gulf carriers offer cheaper flights
European airlines have cut back on routes to Asia since the pandemic, bowing to tough competition from state-backed Middle Eastern carriers that have convinced passengers to fly via their hub airports with cheaper fares. Airlines flew 22mn seats between Europe and Asia last year, down 26% on 2019 and the lowest number in at least 14 years, other than during the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry data provider Cirium. Travel between Europe and Asia has been complicated by the slow reopening of many Asian economies following the coronavirus pandemic. European airlines are also banned from flying over Russian airspace, resulting in longer journeys to much of east Asia. But the bosses of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM said their airlines have slashed their direct flights to many major Asian economies because of competition from Gulf airlines, which often offer cheaper fares for passengers willing to catch a connecting flight in the Middle East. “We have minimal service now to south-east Asia. We’ve lost all that traffic to Middle Eastern carriers, and in the financial situation we have today and our cost structure, and the advantage those carriers have, we won’t get it back,” Air France-KLM CE Ben Smith told an industry conference last month. Lufthansa’s Carsten Spohr agreed, and added that the German carrier used to fly directly to 14 destinations in Asia, but now only flies to Singapore and Bangkok. “It’s not just talk, we lost connectivity to Asia, because it’s all now going through . . . government-owned hubs,” he said at the conference. Dubai’s Emirates, Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad are all government owned and have revolutionised intercontinental flying over the past 25 years by turning the Gulf into a main stopover destination. As well as competitive pricing, they have also invested in premium products and services that have set new standards for in-flight hospitality. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, secretary-general of the Arab Air Carriers Organization, said that the Gulf airlines were more competitive than their European rivals because of their “better cost base and better holistic product”.<br/>
