FINANCIAL NEWS

Gulf airlines to surpass European carriers

05 Jun 2011

(MENAFN) The International Air Transport Association industry group (IATA) said that through turning their bases into international cargo centers, Gulf airlines that include Qatar Airways Ltd. and Emirates, that already attracted passengers from European carriers would increase the contest of USD68 billion air freight market, reported Bloomberg.

IATA added that Emirates would add around 18 cargo planes in Dubai, whereas Qatar Airways would transfer 15 passenger jets to freighters, in addition it would buy 33 percent of Europe’s biggest freight only carrier, the Cargolux Airlines International SA.

It also said that these plans for the carriers sent warning messages to other carriers that were under pressure, since Emirates would expand its fleet of 90 super jumbos, while Qatar would expect the delivery of USD35 billion 200 jets as part of the carrier’s plan to convince travelers to fly via the Gulf instead of London, Paris and Frankfurt.

It is worth noting that fleet expansion has allowed Emirates, Qatar Air and Etihad Airways to add various destinations to their hubs, providing affordable priced connections to Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America which led to clashes with more established carriers over the use of export-credit financing.

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