Three Gulf Airlines Plan Narita Services

DUBAI (Nikkei)--Three airlines based in Persian Gulf nations will start regular services to and from Narita International Airport as early as next spring, it was learned Monday.

Japan has just concluded state-level negotiations that will pave the way for the services to the major travel hub near Tokyo, to be offered by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, Dubai-based Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways.

Etihad and Emirates each plan to operate five flights a week, while Qatar Airways hopes to offer seven.

Although the airlines will start the services simultaneously, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said he is confident there will be sufficient demand.

Emirates and Qatar Airways will continue serving Osaka's Kansai International Airport after launching their Narita flights. Emirates, which suspended services to Central Japan International Airport near Nagoya in March, has no plans to resume those flights, according to a senior executive.

(The Nikkei May 11 evening edition)

Read more...

Gulf airlines challenge Lufthansa

In these challenging economic times will the traditional established carriers return to their old ways of thinking to justify the defense of their historical market positions? From a report in today's Travel Daily Asia this may be the case in Germany.

Market barriers may not be falling as fast in today's world, but ultimately, it will be the customer who decides the winners and losers, based on customer service, product and value for money. Far better to focus on improving your product offering to retain and grow your market share, than trying to re-erect old barriers that are unsustainable.

German carrier petitions against market "imbalance"...

Germany is likely to witness a tussle between Lufthansa and rapidly growing Gulf carriers that are challenging the German flagship carrier’s market dominance. According to a Gulf News report, Lufthansa wants the German government to block the expansion of Emirates into Germany. Thierry Antinori, Lufthansa’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales, was reported saying that there was an “imbalance” in competition because his airline could only have “limited” market access because of the UAE’s smaller size while Gulf airlines can serve several German routes.“We have to make the situation clear to politicians,” Antinori told Gulf News, declaring that the company would oppose “wild expansion and new traffic rights” for Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways. Emirates reportedly responded to Lufthansa's resistance to its expansion, saying it “always welcomes competition”. An airline spokesperson added that Emirates had “boosted the German economy by billions of euros, not least because we have bought a large number of German-built Airbus aircraft”. At present, Emirates has 49 flights to Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Munich and is looking to add Berlin and Stuttgart to its German network.

Read more...