ME remains a vibrant aviation market

Following the 2009 doom and gloom, the outlook in the aviation industry is looking vibrant especially in the Middle East region where most of the carriers are now reporting double-digit growth. The boom in business has been attributed mainly to the Middle East regional travel that has actually played its part in the growth. One of Europe’s vibrant airlines, Austrian Airlines sees the Middle East as a burgeoning aviation sector. Speaking to the Gulf Today on Friday evening, Christina Debbah, the company’s Vice President for Global Sales and Distribution said Middle East region is an important and strategic route for the airline company. “For many years we have invested in this destination to cater for the corporate and business passengers. However, we see the economy between Europe and Middle East growing. Dubai is an important destination in our Middle East strategy,” said Debbah. The airlines celebrated its 16th anniversary of flying to Dubai this year. Debbah hailed Dubai’s vibrant economy, terming it as one of the healthiest in the Middle East region, adding that the investments in the UAE has been boosted due to the country’s wise leadership and stability. The Vienna hub is Europe’s fastest transfer hub: from the Austrian capital, passengers can access 130 destinations in the Austrian route network, 46 of which are in Central and Eastern Europe. Bangkok, China, India and Japan are our major destinations, said the vice president. She noted that the Gulf’s favourable geographic position, combined with the strong regional economies and consumer purchasing power are key ingredients to the aviation sector’s positive forecasts for 2012 and beyond. Austrian Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline group, and a member of the Star Alliance, the first global alliance of international airlines. Asked how Austrian Airlines has managed to remain successful during the aviation turbulence, the VP said the airline has maintained its position as one of Europe’s top airlines, and was given a top rating for the third year in a row as one of the best airlines in the world for business class catering, ranking second this time around. In the overall ranking of the best airlines in Europe, Austrian Airlines was rated once again among the top ten, placing eighth. The VP noted that the biggest and most immediate risk to the aviation industry is the crisis in the Eurozone that had slowed the growth rate. Debbah said Austrian Airlines has also resumed its traffic to Libya and flies from and to Tripoli five times a week. The recession has also caused a seismic shift in the airline industry with a loss of demand and revenues previously unimaginable. Multi-billion dollar airports in the Middle East are being built and existing ones upgraded, to cater for the enormous influx of tourists and business travellers to the region. On March 27 1996 Austrian Airlines inaugural flight to Dubai was operated with a Boeing 737. In the beginning the flight schedule consisted of one flight per week but due to the rising demand, the carrier has been able to successfully increase the number of flights and today offers a daily services between Dubai and Vienna operated by a Boeing 767, says Debbah. The number of passengers carried by Austrian Airlines from the period from January to December 2011 rose by 3.4 per cent compared to previous year’s figure: 11,261,400 passengers flew with Austrian. A new flight schedule has been developed with a strategic orientation to our domestic market of Austria and strong eastern markets. In 2011 and 2012, Austrian Airlines introduced a range of extra services designed to make travelling an altogether more comfortable experience for passengers. The upgrading of the long-haul cabin is an important investment within the framework of the restructuring of Austrian Airlines. We are working in a targeted way on continuing to improve the quality we offer our customers. Unlike previous years, Austrian Airlines has registered double-digit growth in the region, according to Debbah. The VP said the airline had a long-term relationship with the Middle East dating back to almost two decades. She added that there is a lot of potential in the Middle East region as lots of passenger transit from the hub of Dubai to global destinations. Asked about competition in the market, Debbah said though competition is tough, it is healthy and Austrian Airlines is ready to face any competition even from bigger European carriers.