Page 23 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018 Online Magazine

Big Three in Trouble
ullish predictions aside,
there is plenty of concern
among industry watchers
Babout the crises that the
three big Middle Eastern carriers
– Qatar Airways, Emirates and
Etihad Airways – are facing. The
electronics ban may be a thing of
the past, but the carriers have had
a plethora of other problems to
deal with, the collective impact of
which is being felt by the industry.
The hardest hit is Qatar Airways,
which is suffering four of its
neighbors - Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
the United Arab Emirates and
Bahrain - severed relations with numbers, resulting in a restruc- in 2003, has not let falling profits
Qatar and closed their airspace turing exercise and some layoffs. come in the way of introducing
to the carrier’s flights. The airline Emirates, the largest of the NASA-inspired “zero gravity” flat
has been forced to use alter- Middle Eastern airlines, is strug- beds in the new First Class private
native, less fuel-efficient routes gling with falling profits, the first suite of its Boeing 777 aircraft.
for flights to Europe and North time it has faced such a situation in The fully enclosed private suites
America, besides suffering a five years. The carrier’s net profit will have floor-to-ceiling slid-
substantial loss of traffic. The plunged business to US$340 ing doors, “virtual windows” and
carrier’s response to the situa- million from US$1.9 billion in the Mercedes-Benz style interiors.
tion has included leasing some previous 12 months. The airline The carrier’s 777 aircraft boast a
of its aircraft to British Airways has “pulled back” the expected multi-million dollar upgrade that
and looking at other problem-free delivery of some of its new air- includes newly-designed seats
routes. craft and even tied up with one and upgraded inflight entertain-
Etihad’s strategy of expand- of its rivals, FlyDubai, but experts ment systems in all cabins. While
ing its global foothold by taking predict that the carrier will find its the aircraft’s business class has
minority stakes in struggling Asian way out of the current situation it fully-flat leather seats with per-
and European carriers has back- finds itself in. sonal minibars, economy class
fired spectacularly. It has also Emirates, which pioneered the seats have adjustable full leather
had to deal with falling passenger First-Class private suite concept headrests.

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