2014: A year of aggressive headline-making expansion

It’s been a busy old year as they say. Lightning speed is the only way to describe how 2014 has flown by.

And it is the fast pace of one industry – specifically in the Gulf region – that has kept business and feature writers active to cover prominent stories.

The regional airline industry has had its fair share of column inches with a constant wave of headlines keeping this sector very much in the spotlight.

For the region’s burgeoning airlines, which the world has been observing with envy over the years, there has truly been a meaningful story to tell.

The dynamism of the aviation sector that has grown from strength to strength has been the focus of a rapidly evolving story in this part of the world.

Any communications professional will tell you that PR collateral churned out for the sake of trying to generate publicity will end up in a reporter’s trash bin.

But airline industry peers across the world would love to be in the position of the Gulf carriers which are making significant headlines with stories that impact their image and enhance the profile of the overall aviation sector.

Whether it’s the big full-service Gulf airlines or the ‘smaller’ low-cost regional carriers, it’s the share of voice that matters, not just aggressive marketing.

Many of the airlines here have been making a difference in getting their voice heard.

Route expansion, fleet growth, image makeovers and acquisitions have typically been high on the agenda during 2014.

But so too has been frequent commentary by senior management providing insightful perspective into the state of the global aviation industry that has also generated great copy for journalists.

Whether it is grasping any opportunity to defend the Gulf’s thriving young aviation industry from vicious attacks by Europe’s legacy airlines; proudly talking about vision and innovation being leaps and bounds ahead of age-old carriers; or eating into aircraft manufacturers for failed promises to deliver, the power of the spoken word hits media distribution channels almost immediately and amplified around the world.

2014 saw each of the three big boys – Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates – furthering the cause for global dominance from their respective hubs in Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Story number 1: The largest combined commercial aircraft order in history was sealed in the summer by Qatar Airways and neighbours Emirates.

They struck a deal with Boeing for 300 of the US manufacturer’s stretched version 777 passenger jets. The 777X aircraft, longer than the current 777s flying, will help both carriers fulfill their future growth plans, operating longer distances, to a greater number of destinations and flying more passengers on many routes.

In doing so, both carriers reinforced their strategy to bring in new generation of aircraft into their fleets. Younger, newer planes are more environmentally and fuel efficient, feature the latest onboard technology and make for a better overall flying experience – a big plus over competitors.

With 218 passenger jets, Emirates has rounded off 2014 as the world’s largest operator of wide-body planes. Aside from being the world’s biggest 777 operator, it is also Airbus’ main A380 customer with a milestone 50th superjumbo now in its fleet.

On average Emirates added two new wide-body planes to its fleet every month this year – a staggering 27 aircraft.

Story number 2: Etihad has enjoyed a year of expansion unlike its rivals by pursing a strategy of equity investment in other carriers. Investing in Indian carrier Jet Airways and Italy’s Alitalia has given it inroads into large domestic markets.

More importantly ownership of lucrative frequent flier programmes that gives Etihad access to databases of regular travellers whose loyalty makes up the large chunk of revenue for any airline.

India is expected to become the world’s third largest air passenger market within the next 20 years. More than 620,000 passengers flew on Etihad’s India services in the first half of 2014, an increase of 51% year-on-year. The Jet tie-up – a 24% stake valued at $600mn – provides Etihad with access to a bigger Indian network and building towards multi-frequency flights between India and Abu Dhabi with onward connections.

The Alitalia connection, involving a 49% stake, provides Etihad with a stronger foothold in Italy and a slice of a travel market that has long suffered because of Alitalia’s financial woes affecting service and reliability.

Story number 3: A common thread for all three airlines this year, aside from fleet growth, has been the push into the US, the world’s largest aviation market.

Three new US gateways – Miami, Philadelphia and Boston – were added to their portfolio this year taking the number of combined destinations served by the three to 11 cities. With frequency increases to existing gateways, the three players have increased the number of flights to the US by 47% compared to this time last year.

Seat capacity has increased significantly as Emirates pumps more of its A380 superjumbos into the US market, helping claw into the business of American rivals which are far from impressed with the Gulf marching into their territory.

Such is the large volume of passenger traffic flows between the US and Asia, short connections in the Gulf at passenger friendly airports are helping attract more business onto the region’s carriers.

But it still remains a tall order penetrating frequent fliers whose loyalty for years has been to US carriers with powerful loyalty programmes. This remains work in progress and is expected to feature prominently in marketing strategies of the Gulf carriers in the year ahead.

Not content with just a busy 2014, the year is being rounded off in style with the best left to the last.

Remember headline grabbing news!

Story number 4: Qatar Airways this week took delivery of the world’s newest passenger jet, the Airbus A350.

Just weeks after introducing the A380 into its fleet, Qatar Airways has been showcasing the A350 to the world’s media.

Qatar Airways is the A350 global launch customer with 80 aircraft on the order books, signed at the Paris Air Show nine years ago.

At Airbus’ assembly plant in Toulouse on Monday, the national carrier finally took the keys of its newest asset during a delivery ceremony.

What made it more fulfilling, demonstrating national pride, Qatar Airways had a bigger role to play than just ordering new planes.

The airline has been involved in the concept and design of the A350 from day one. This week marks the culmination of a great achievement by both customer and manufacturer.

Passengers, however, will have to wait a few weeks before taking to the skies on a plane set to rival Boeing’s equivalent, the 787 Dreamliner, which was the industry’s last new aircraft to be introduced three years ago.

Doha – Frankfurt will be the maiden A350 passenger route in mid-January. Until then, the A350 will perform a number of take-offs and landings at Hamad International Airport, as well as short familiarisation flights for pilots, cabin crew and other operational staff.

The opening of Hamad International earlier this year was much needed with bigger, purpose-built facilities to cope with the national carrier’s aggressive expansion.

Story number 5: This year will also end in celebration for Abu Dhabi’s Etihad.

The doors to the airline’s two new flagship aircraft – A380 and Boeing 787 – adorned with a new livery and corporate identity, were opened for the first time a few days ago to reveal new-look cabin interiors.

And in just two days’ time, the world will witness a commercial aviation first in what has been described as the most exclusive ticket in aviation history when Etihad’s first A380 is scheduled to take-off on Saturday.

A one-way fare of $20,000 from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow will give passengers exclusive use of three-room suites featuring a lounge, bedroom and en-suite shower room.

Dubbed ‘The Residence’, the multi-room private cabins – and there are two of them each measuring 12sq m – come with dedicated butlers. Trained at the London School of Hospitality and Tourism, and the renowned Savoy Hotel in the British capital, the butlers have been groomed to handle VIP travellers’ needs and to be on call throughout the flight.

The A380 aircraft has been configured with the essence of hospitality and luxury at its heart. Other sections of the aircraft have been dubbed First Apartment and Business Studios reflecting the class of travel and branded from the world of hospitality.

Etihad’s Dreamliner, meanwhile, is set to take off for Dusseldorf in the New Year with in-flight features including selected first class seats converting into double beds.

Innovation is certainly the name of the game.

Story number 6: Let’s not forget the ‘smaller’ boys too – the low-cost operators flydubai and Air Arabia from the UAE.

A combined portfolio of over 170 destinations across more than 50 countries is impressive reading. More so as the two airlines have only been flying for 10 years and five years respectively.

The regional appetite for cheap, no-frills flights has been strong reflected by the strong growth of this sector. Flydubai, in particular, has seen 23 new route start-ups in a single year, its biggest expansion drive since launching in 2009.

Air Arabia too has witnessed expansion from its Sharjah hub but also through a new secondary regional base in Ras Al Khaimah following the failure of the emirate’s own carrier.

For both flydubai and Air Arabia, it will be interesting to see whether they open up new routes deeper into eastern and central Europe, and Asia.

China is already being watched as a potential new market which will surely shift the goal posts in strategies that have so far focused on operating regional and medium-haul, low-cost routes.

The biggest leaving present the airline industry across the world can have as it enters 2015 is cheaper fuel.

With oil prices nose-diving 40% in the last six months, lower prices mean more revenue and more profitability for airlines.

Global airline profit forecasts suggest the industry is already on course for a sharp 40% increase in profitability thanks to lower fuel prices.

The airline industry is hoping prices will fall further to strengthen their cash flows.

Regardless, the Gulf’s boys will continue expansion with vigour with many more headlines to make as we herald in 2015.

♦ Updesh Kapur is a PR & communications professional, columnist, aviation, hospitality and travel analyst, social and entertainment writer. He can be followed on twitter @updeshkapur