ID :
186948
Tue, 06/07/2011 - 13:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/186948
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World airlines back Emirates growth
Dubai, June 7, 2011 (WAM) - Emirates, along with other Gulf carriers such as Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, has been seeking additional landing rights in key markets such as Canada, Germany, Australia and the UK. While the battle between the Gulf and the other major global carriers has been dragging on, no agreement has been reached.
Gulf News caught up exclusively with the chiefs of these carriers besides industry experts during the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general meeting in Singapore yesterday to address the core issue troubling Middle Eastern as well as other carriers.
Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, said, "Europe does not need more regulations to stop Emirates' aggressive expansion. Emirates has been operating for almost 26 years now. We have competed with them for that long and are still competing with them. I have no issue with it, none whatsoever."
He said he does not have problems with the way Emirates is operating. "If there is an issue, it's one of jealousy because I would love to have the support they have from their government. In the Middle East, governments value the contribution that airlines make to their economies.
"In Europe, we are undervalued and overtaxed. I would love to operate in an environment where people fully appreciate the contribution that we make to national economies," he said.
Alan Joyce, Managing Director and CEO of Qantas Airways, said, "We have been coping well with the Middle Eastern carriers' expansion into Australia. They have a lot of capacity, a lot of opportunities for growth going forward. What we have been saying is that we just want a level playing field… There are opportunities around the world we would like to have and fly into markets. And there are a lot of markets that Qantas is restricted on. It would be great if we could get the freedom to fly everywhere and I think that would be ideal for Qantas' plans.
Competition
"Emirates already has the capacity on the shelf. The only markets where we could compete against Emirates are the European markets and that represents less than 10 per cent of Qantas' total ASKs (available seat kilometres). We don't take any competitor activity for granted."
German carrier Lufthansa has been opposing additional traffic rights to Emirates on its home ground for some time.
Christoph Franz, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa, said, "It is exclusively the German government which is deciding [about Emirates' intentions to expand into Germany]. There are now four destinations in Germany open to Emirates, and Lufthansa has clearly expressed that Emirates is free to choose any of the four German markets to serve. They are even free to define their own capacity how to serve this — in terms of the number of frequencies.
"Emirates has been heavily advocating to fly to Berlin and my only comment is: ‘Please fly to Berlin.'
"Emirates has all the rights to fly to Berlin but the only problem is it's their fifth priority in Germany, and they don't want to give up any of the existing four destinations they are operating to at present.
"Does that threaten Lufthansa in any way? All major markets in Germany are already served by one or the other carriers from the Gulf, so we are used to the competition."
In response, Tim Clark, President of Emirates, said, "We would like to go to Berlin and Stuttgart — obviously, to Berlin because it's the German capital and also the fastest growing city in the country. Berlin is spending US$3-US$4 billion on building a new airport and keeping all foreign carriers out. So that doesn't make any sense to me.
Lufthansa issue
"Lufthansa has been suggesting that we cancel either our Hamburg or Munich flights and trade that for Berlin or Stuttgart. But it won't make any sense for us to do that and it would probably upset all the stakeholders in the communities that we serve.
"We have rights for four [destinations] and it is quite generous, by the political standards. Germany is asking us to give up one destination for the other but we would rather not do that. Hopefully, people would understand that we would like to go to Berlin or Stuttgart… both preferably."
Akbar Al Baqer, CEO of Qatar Airways, said: "Foreign carriers are not able to bring standards up, not willing to take financial risks. So these are all excuses being made by them when they are not able to bring their standards up to their competitors' and offer the same level of services that we do. They are all afraid of our growth because we offer the highest standards to our customers.
"They [foreign carriers] shouldn't be concerned. It's the age of globalisation and free trade. Other carriers or countries are not allowing us traffic rights against contracts. We would like to offer trade opportunities to other countries and we want traffic rights in return.
Utilisation
"Our utilisations are high and we are not really government-owned. Qatar Airways is a public-private partnership, while Emirates and Etihad are fully owned by the government, but governments are shareholders in our company. Plus, Qatar Airways and Emirates are going to be private. But the other side [other airlines] doesn't want to listen and sit down and see if there's a possible way to work together."
James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways, said: "We are no threat to Canadian airlines or to Canadian aviation. I am quite keen to get more in regard to traffic rights, but until they come, I have to work with what I have. We are keen to move to daily on Toronto, and then after that, see what other secondary cities to Canada that we could fly to. Going to a minimum of daily is key. – Gulf News
Gulf News caught up exclusively with the chiefs of these carriers besides industry experts during the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general meeting in Singapore yesterday to address the core issue troubling Middle Eastern as well as other carriers.
Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, said, "Europe does not need more regulations to stop Emirates' aggressive expansion. Emirates has been operating for almost 26 years now. We have competed with them for that long and are still competing with them. I have no issue with it, none whatsoever."
He said he does not have problems with the way Emirates is operating. "If there is an issue, it's one of jealousy because I would love to have the support they have from their government. In the Middle East, governments value the contribution that airlines make to their economies.
"In Europe, we are undervalued and overtaxed. I would love to operate in an environment where people fully appreciate the contribution that we make to national economies," he said.
Alan Joyce, Managing Director and CEO of Qantas Airways, said, "We have been coping well with the Middle Eastern carriers' expansion into Australia. They have a lot of capacity, a lot of opportunities for growth going forward. What we have been saying is that we just want a level playing field… There are opportunities around the world we would like to have and fly into markets. And there are a lot of markets that Qantas is restricted on. It would be great if we could get the freedom to fly everywhere and I think that would be ideal for Qantas' plans.
Competition
"Emirates already has the capacity on the shelf. The only markets where we could compete against Emirates are the European markets and that represents less than 10 per cent of Qantas' total ASKs (available seat kilometres). We don't take any competitor activity for granted."
German carrier Lufthansa has been opposing additional traffic rights to Emirates on its home ground for some time.
Christoph Franz, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa, said, "It is exclusively the German government which is deciding [about Emirates' intentions to expand into Germany]. There are now four destinations in Germany open to Emirates, and Lufthansa has clearly expressed that Emirates is free to choose any of the four German markets to serve. They are even free to define their own capacity how to serve this — in terms of the number of frequencies.
"Emirates has been heavily advocating to fly to Berlin and my only comment is: ‘Please fly to Berlin.'
"Emirates has all the rights to fly to Berlin but the only problem is it's their fifth priority in Germany, and they don't want to give up any of the existing four destinations they are operating to at present.
"Does that threaten Lufthansa in any way? All major markets in Germany are already served by one or the other carriers from the Gulf, so we are used to the competition."
In response, Tim Clark, President of Emirates, said, "We would like to go to Berlin and Stuttgart — obviously, to Berlin because it's the German capital and also the fastest growing city in the country. Berlin is spending US$3-US$4 billion on building a new airport and keeping all foreign carriers out. So that doesn't make any sense to me.
Lufthansa issue
"Lufthansa has been suggesting that we cancel either our Hamburg or Munich flights and trade that for Berlin or Stuttgart. But it won't make any sense for us to do that and it would probably upset all the stakeholders in the communities that we serve.
"We have rights for four [destinations] and it is quite generous, by the political standards. Germany is asking us to give up one destination for the other but we would rather not do that. Hopefully, people would understand that we would like to go to Berlin or Stuttgart… both preferably."
Akbar Al Baqer, CEO of Qatar Airways, said: "Foreign carriers are not able to bring standards up, not willing to take financial risks. So these are all excuses being made by them when they are not able to bring their standards up to their competitors' and offer the same level of services that we do. They are all afraid of our growth because we offer the highest standards to our customers.
"They [foreign carriers] shouldn't be concerned. It's the age of globalisation and free trade. Other carriers or countries are not allowing us traffic rights against contracts. We would like to offer trade opportunities to other countries and we want traffic rights in return.
Utilisation
"Our utilisations are high and we are not really government-owned. Qatar Airways is a public-private partnership, while Emirates and Etihad are fully owned by the government, but governments are shareholders in our company. Plus, Qatar Airways and Emirates are going to be private. But the other side [other airlines] doesn't want to listen and sit down and see if there's a possible way to work together."
James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways, said: "We are no threat to Canadian airlines or to Canadian aviation. I am quite keen to get more in regard to traffic rights, but until they come, I have to work with what I have. We are keen to move to daily on Toronto, and then after that, see what other secondary cities to Canada that we could fly to. Going to a minimum of daily is key. – Gulf News
