Doha International Airport

Middle East sixth freedom hubs add 8 million passengers in 2011 as home carriers plan further growth

The three major sixth freedom hubs in the Middle East – Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi – added 7.7 million passengers between them in 2011. Passenger traffic at the three hubs continues to grow by leaps and bounds, regardless of the regional disruptions that affected traffic in the Middle East last year. Much of this is testament to the strength of their home carriers, the industry aligned development policies pursued at each airport and the vision of local governments to transform their cities into major aviation centres.

Combined, the three hubs had an average passenger traffic growth rate of 10.5%. This is a notably stronger performance than the rest of the Middle East, where international traffic expanded 8.9% over 2011. Hub growth is closely tied to growth from each hub's main carrier: Etihad Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways. All three have already announced significant expansion in the near future.

New Cebu Pacific long-haul operation could push out Philippine Airlines but may require hybrid model

The new plan from leading low-cost Filipino carrier Cebu Pacific to offer long-haul services from 3Q2013 represents not just the fourth low-cost long-haul operation in Asia, but the first time such a carrier has potential to force a full-service rival – Philippine Airlines (PAL) – out of business.

Cebu Pacific will benefit from the Philippines’ extremely price sensitive market that has seen LCCs achieve a staggering 80% share of the domestic market and a fast-growing share of the regional international market. Demand for low-cost long-haul services will come primarily from the large visiting friends and relative (VFR) and migrant worker market. But Cebu’s new low-cost long-haul operation will also benefit from growing tourism and potentially the ability to transfer passengers over a geographically convenient hub if Cebu decides to stray from its original point-to-point model.

While PAL is the nation’s sole long-haul carrier, its lack of global alliance membership, relatively small domestic operation and higher cost base create low barriers for entry. National sentiment for Asia’s oldest airline may run high, but as seen in the Philippines’ domestic market, passengers vote with wallets.

The Middle East's biggest air routes: Intra-regional city pairs dominate

Jeddah-Riyadh and Dubai-Doha are by far the busiest routes to, from or within the Middle East, but there are some changes ahead. A spike in capacity on the Dubai-London Heathrow route will see it take third place, while major cities linked with Cairo will see some seasonal reductions in coming months, namely Jeddah, Riyadh and Kuwait. More seats are being added from Dubai to the key Indian cities of Delhi and Mumbai, which will see them rise up the rankings.

Asia's first time flyers the big winners as Paris Air Show PR juggernaut winds down

The major beneficiaries of this week’s frenetic (public relations) activity just outside Paris live half a world away. They are Asia’s emerging travellers – the millions that have never stepped inside an aircraft, but for whom air travel is becoming attainable. That opportunity took a major step forward as Asian carriers – many of whom the world had never heard of a decade or even five years ago – stepped up in front of the world’s media to order narrowbodies for the mass markets they see blossoming at home.

Egypt unrest: Aviation in North Africa and Middle East threatened by political turmoil

The political instability engulfing some North African states has extensive implications for tourism and aviation across the region. Already dozens of governments are warning their citizens to avoid travel to Egypt. Several have chartered aircraft to ferry their nationals out. Cairo Airport has been met with chaotic scenes in the past few days as thousands of foreigners seek to leave. In this special report, CAPA reviews the immediate aviation and tourism impacts from the North Africa/Middle East civil unrest.