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Introduction

April 10, 2017, © Leeham Co.:  Tim Clark of Emirates Airline said the new breed of long-haul, low cost carriers are hurting EK’s load factors and yields.

Etihad Airlines’ business strategy of taking financial stakes in LCCs hasn’t produced the positive financial results desired.

Three big airlines, EK, EY and Qatar Airways, face over-capacity now compounded by electronic carry-on restrictions by the US and UK.

Figure 1. Click on image for a crisp view.

The thee carriers largely compete for the same connecting traffic through hubs only 72-235 miles apart (Figure 1). This is like having hubs in Milwaukee and Chicago (81 air miles apart) and Chicago-Detroit (237 air miles) with much, much smaller domestic catchment basins.

Summary

• Declining financial results for Emirates, Etihad.
• Deferring airplanes: 787s, 777X
• Long-haul LLC, Trump travel ban, poor investments hurt the airlines.