Aviation Dominance: Into the growth slipstreams of emerging gulf carriers

Cape Town - Western legacy carriers have long accused the three fast-growing Gulf carriers, Etihad and Dubai's Emirates and Qatar Airways, of receiving state subsidies that give them an edge over competitors.

But it's a case of 'if you can't beat them, join them' it seems as more and more, Western carriers are jumping onto the Gulf carrier bandwagon. 

And why wouldn't they? Dubbed the new centre of the world, both Dubai International Airport has grown exponentially over the past couple of years, and are planning an even bigger and more advanced hub for the next two years. 

The airlines too, are growing so rapidly they're tough to keep up with, let alone beat. Take a look. 

SEE: Dubai cements 'World's busiest international airport' title with 7.2% growth 

Etihad 

During the past year, for example, the United Arab Emirates's flag carrier Etihad Airways operated more than 109 000 scheduled flights spanning around 446 million kilometres and 112 destinations. 

The airline carried 18.5 million guests, up 6% cent on 2015. Not only that, the airline's fleet of 119 aircraft is one of the youngest and most environmentally-friendly in the industry. During the past year alone, the airline took delivery of 10 aircraft - three Airbus A380s, five Boeing 787s and two Boeing 777-200 cargo freighters. 

An additional 12 aircraft are set for delivery in 2017, including nine Boeing 787s, two Airbus A380s and one A330-200 freighter. 

They launched Venice in Italy, Rabat in Morocco and Sabiha Gokcen in Turkey as new destinations in 2016. 

On a more strategic side, the airline launched new codeshare agreements with Avianca Colombia, Avianca Brasil, Kulula, Precision Air, Montenegro Airlines as well as Lufthansa German Airlines. 

The latter, part of Europe's largest airline group, will see the German carrier's 'LH' code on Etihad Airways' twice daily non-stop flights between its home base of Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt and its twice daily non-stop services between Abu Dhabi and Munich, the biggest city in southern Germany. 

SEE: Lufthansa chief rejects 'subsidies' as he signs Etihad deal

Apart from the international codeshares, the airline is also using it's proximity to Africa to its advantage. In a move that extends its reach across East Africa, Etihad Airways also last year entered into a codeshare agreement with Precision Air, Tanzania's leading domestic airline. 

South Africa is a hot commodity too. 

In October again last year, Etihad Airways also entered into a new codeshare agreement with South Africa low-cost airline kulula. This codeshare deal now offers Etihad Airways customers flight options to a number of key cities in South Africa that include Cape Town, Durban, George and East London via Johannesburg.

SEE: kulula and Etihad enter new codeshare agreement

Africa is also on the agenda for Emirates - the largest international airline in the world. 

The carrier announced in January this year that it will be introducing a third daily flight between Dubai and Nairobi from 1 June this year. 

SEE: Emirates' third daily flight to Kenya to connect Africa to global business market

Apart from that, it has recently deployed its massive A380 double-decker on routes to both Casablanca in Morocco, North Africa, as well as our very own Johannesburg. 

What makes the move even cooler is that Emirate has thrown its weight behind banning wildlife trafficking across the globe - a critical issue in SA. 

SEE PIC: Emirates deploys wildlife-branded A380 double-decker on Johannesburg route

It's a pretty massive step considering Emirates flies the world's biggest fleets of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, and in 2016, it was voted the World's Best Airline in the Skytrax World Airline Awards. 

READ: World's leading airlines for 2016 are...

Qatar 

Speaking of our continent, the Gulf carriers also have another great advantage, apart from backing from their uber-rich governments - easy access to Africa. 

In February last year, Qatar Airways also announced a new code-share agreement with Comair, a franchise of British Airways, to add three new African destinations to the Qatar Airways route map, and provide additional flight options to travellers in Cape Town and Durban.

SEE: Qatar and Comair expand flight routes through new codeshare

Qatar Airways and the parent of British Airways also set up a revenue-sharing business partnership last year - a deal which allowed the airlines to cooperate on scheduling and ticket prices. 

Under the arrangement, the airlines now also share flight codes on all non-stop flights between Britain and the Qatari capital, Doha, as well as on many connecting flights in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Apart from the expansion into Africa, they will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017, including Chiang Mai, Dublin, Nice and Skopje, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of 192 aircraft. 

Most recently, Qatar Airways was top news when the world's longest commercial flight landed in New Zealand after a 14 535 kilometre Doha-Auckland service. "We've officially landed in Auckland," the airline tweeted as flight QR920 landed at 7.25am, five minutes ahead of schedule after a 16-hour, 23-minute flight. 

The long-range Boeing 777-200LR crossed 10 time zones on its marathon flight. Qatar Airways noted the flight was longer than the entire "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogies which were filmed in New Zealand. That's pretty long. 

WATCH: World's longest flight lands in New Zealand

Turkish Airlines 

Although not technically part of the Gulf, Turkish Airlines deserves a mention too. Turkish Airlines operates a fleet of 334 aircraft flying to 296 destinations worldwide. 

Like all the aforementioned airlines, they have their eye on Africa. 

A newly announced codeshare agreement between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia serves as a reminder of the growing potential on the continent.

SEE: #AfriTravel: Turkish Airlines, Air Namibia join forces to open Africa travel

The agreement, signed on Monday, 6 February, will come into effect on 1 March 2017. It covers routes between Turkey and Namibia, and is "set to expand the travel opportunities for the passengers of the two airlines," Turkish Airlines says. 

From February this year, the capital of the Republic of Guinea, Conakry, also became the 296th destination in 120 countries served by Turkish Airlines. 

Apart from the codeshares, the airline already flies to 51 destinations in 33 countries across the continent. Kenan Ince, General Manager for Turkish Airlines in South Africa, says, "Our investment in Africa has been a strong element of our strategy especially in recent years. 

"Turkish Airlines sees a bright future for Africa, and since we support emerging economies we'll continue to offer competitively-priced travel to more destinations in Africa than any other airline," he says.

The airline has been investing heavily in expansion into Africa, and especially into South Africa. SA now has year-round, daily direct flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg to Istanbul, and travels to Istanbul from Durban via Johannesburg five times a week. 

SEE: Africa air travel on the rise, showing massive 7.4% growthLooking East 

Apart from its proximity and interest in Africa, Gulf carriers (including Turkish Airlines) also serve as a connector to one of the fastest growing travel markets on the globe - China and the entire East. 

Some 65 million Chinese are expected to travel abroad in 2017 - that's 10 million more than the entire South African population. It's no wonder then, that Emirates powered up its A380 capacity for China late last year, and announced it was launching a new service from Dubai to Yinchuan and Zhengzho, expanding Emirates' destination offering on the mainland to five cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Although the eastern market in already very well serviced by the Gulf carriers, their centralized location means that when that market of 65 million book their tickets to travel this year, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and Turkish Airlines will be ready for them.  

What to read next on Traveller24: 

- WATCH: World's longest flight lands in New Zealand

- In-flight jetlag banished as Lufthansa adds light at the end of the long-haul tunnel

- PIC: Emirates deploys wildlife-branded A380 double-decker on Johannesburg route

Source: Aviation Dominance: Into the growth slipstreams of emerging gulf carriers