Emirates And Etihad: Merging Paths?

摘要

The Middle East accounted for 20% of all aircraft orders in 2008, and approximately 17% of all outstanding Airbus orders and 12% of all Boeing orders are destined for the Middle East (see chart, page 19). A number of airlines - backed by wealthy emirate states - have ambitious expansion plans, and in the first of two articles on Middle Eastern carriers Aviation Strategy looks at the prospects for Emirates and Etihad.rnAround 3.5bn people live within an eight-hour flight of Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and the region is a natural "pinch point" between westward and eastward routes. That geographical advantage - combined with deep pockets of oil-rich emirates within the UAE - has led to the emergence of a wave of long-haul airlines in the Middle East, of which the two most ambitious are Emirates and Etihad.rnEmirates Airline was launched in 1985 and is a subsidiary of the Emirates Group, which is owned 100% by the Dubai government. It operates to more than 100 destinations in around 60 countries around the globe, and through the 2000s it reported steady increases in both operating and net profit (see charts, right).rnHowever, in the first half of the 2008/09 financial year (ending September 30th 2008), while operating revenue at the airline rose 31% to Dhs 22.1 bn (US$6bn), operating profit fell 90% year-on-year to Dhs 237m (US$64m) and net profit fell 88% to Dhs 284m (US$77m).