Trouble In The Sandpit - Emirates Airlines Under Attack

[Cpt. Underpants]

Emirates comes under attack at IATA conference

Dubai-based Emirates came under concerted attack by rival airline CEOs at an industry forum held during the IATA AGM in Tokyo earlier this week.

The extraordinary debate, which lasted more than an hour Monday, started when British Airways CEO Rod Eddington posed a question about whether airlines should or should not be government-owned or protected. That set the scene for an all-out assault from the assembled CEOs, who called into question the transparency of Emirates' balance sheet and also wanted to know how the airline was going to finance its huge orders for 45 555-seat A380s and 50 A340-600s and 777-300ERs.

"Where are you going to get the money?" Air France-KLM Group Vice Chairman Leo van Wijk asked bluntly. In a terse reply, Emirates President Tim Clark, who maintains that the carrier does not get a cent from the government, said the books are transparent and there are no "shady bits or pages missing." The airline will acquire the A380s on operating leases that will be financed through cash flow, he added.

Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon, a speaker at the forum along with Clark and Air Canada Chairman Robert Milton, also took a swipe at Emirates, claiming that it enjoys the luxury of being owned by the government, which also owns the airport and sets aviation policy.

"Any airline CEO that can control the airport and the government would be making a lot more money," said Dixon. "You can't be the owner and the regulator - it is inherently wrong."

 

[bafanguy]

Emirates comes under attack at IATA conference

Dubai-based Emirates came under concerted attack by rival airline CEOs at an industry forum held during the IATA AGM in Tokyo earlier this week.



"Any airline CEO that can control the airport and the government would be making a lot more money," said Dixon. "You can't be the owner and the regulator - it is inherently wrong."

"...inherently wrong..." ? Since when is there any right or wrong in big business ?

Of course rival CEOs are screaming bloody murder at any advantage ( real or perceived ) one carrier might have over them in the market place; the same advantage the screamers would use for themselves in a heartbeat if they had the chance. They see their ox being gored and they don't like it.

This is the real world, not the Boy Scouts.

 

[mar]

Exactly

"...inherently wrong..." ? Since when is there any right or wrong in big business ?

Of course rival CEOs are screaming bloody murder at any advantage ( real or perceived ) one carrier might have over them in the market place; the same advantage the screamers would use for themselves in a heartbeat if they had the chance. They see their ox being gored and they don't like it.

This is the real world, not the Boy Scouts.

Exactly.

Apparently nobody is complaining about Bangladeshi Airlines. I couldn't say for sure but I'm guessing that airline must be a state run airline. Where anybody could find the money to run an airline in that country is beyond me.

What's bothering these IATA guys is that the service in coach on EK is a lot better than most business class service.

In fact, the service at check in is a lot better than most business class service!!!

 

[typhoonpilot]

Funny how the CEO's of all the airlines mentioned in that article are from formerly, or still partially, government owned airlines which themselves receive government favoratism.

One of the keys to Emirates profitability is the lower base costs of their Dubai hub. That means all the clerical staff at corporate HQ, maintenance staff at the airport, flight attendants, and even pilots cost much less to employ than their rivals. Another key is a very smart startegy of leveraging the geographic position of Dubai as a perfect hub for passengers travelling from Europe to Asia/Australia and even parts of Africa. They also have a savvy marketing arm that gets the Emirates name recognized by sponsoring European football, cricket, rugby, America's Cup sailing, golf tournaments, etc. Then they provide a very good product at a reasonable cost which keeps the customers returning.

The major help that the government of Dubai provides is in promoting the city as a travel, trade, and tourism destination. This creates a tremendous amount of O and D traffic which combined with the through traffic makes for a very successful airline.

So thanks for your concern, but everything is fine in the sandpit ( just a touch hot this time of year ).


TP

 

[iluvetops]

Mr. Underpants should worried more about CX then Emirates...

 

[Cpt. Underpants]

The reason being..? Just curious as to why you would think that I should be worried. I am not trying to "dis" EK, just putting on something newsworthy, like this:

World's best: Top 10 airlines named

Annual survey of millions of passengers ranks the planet's best airlines.
June 3, 2005: 4:59 PM EDT
By Gordon T. Anderson, CNN/Money staff writer


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Does the notion of air travel conjure images of gate agents bickering over carry-on bags, harried flight attendants and adult-sized bodies crammed into a child-sized seats?

Well, guess what: on some airlines, a flight is a trip to be enjoyed, not endured. A massive survey released Thursday names airlines that customers actually like to fly.

The poll, conducted by London-based consultancy Skytrax, asked people to grade the world's airlines according to a broad variety of criteria. Taken over the course of a year, it tallied more than 12 million responses, from citizens of 94 countries.

The winner was Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong-based carrier most Americans only get to fly if they're making the long haul to Asia. (Click here to see complete results.)

Cathay won particular praise for its first-class and business-class service, but Skytrax made it clear that the best airlines keep folks happy back in the cheap seats, too.

"This is the most representative survey of airline passengers across the globe," said Miller in a statement. "It encompasses all passenger types, be they business travellers, vacationers or backpackers."

The study looked at the entire travel process, from booking a ticket to arriving at your destination.

Airlines were graded for their performance both on the ground and aloft. At the airport, that meant the efficiency of check-in and boarding procedures, handling of delays, even whether gate crew were friendly.

In flight, respondents were asked to assess onboard amenities and the conditions of the planes, as well as service in the sky. Premiums were placed on cabin cleanliness and the comfort and layout of seats, as well as the food.

Where's the United States?
As is typical with surveys of this sort, few U.S. carriers scored very highly. It's tempting to say that's a function of their financial problems -- except for the fact that business conditions are challenging for airlines all over the world.

Or, you could argue that some of the best performers are national airlines that receive generous financial assistance from their governments. Credible -- until you remember those billion-dollar bailouts Washington handed out after September 11.

In fact, the problem for U.S. airlines is partly logistical. Americans hop around the country on a series of short flights. Delta can only offer so much service on a 30-minute shuttle flight, for example.

Covering longer distances domestically often means confronting the hub-and-spoke systems, too. Even if the Southwest flight attendants make you chuckle, you're still changing planes in Dallas.

Most of the survey's top performers -- Qantas from Australia, or Dubai-based Emirates -- fly a greater percentage of long haul trips. On a 12-hour flight, your staff had better be nice.

"Cathay Pacific was repeatedly singled out for the high quality and consistency of its front-line staff, in both the airport environment and onboard flights," according to Miller. "Cathay certainly seems to have achieved its motto of 'service straight from the heart' and wowed passengers accordingly."

Cultural factors might also be at play. Robert Crandall, the crusty former boss at American Airlines, used to say that customers always talk in surveys about food and legroom. But when it comes to buying tickets, the only thing that ever matters to them is price.

In other words, good service is nice but we'll put up with a lot if it means a cheaper seat. Americans, as a rule, won't pay more for a plusher seat or better food. And U.S. airlines know it.

Actually, the U.S. carrier that performed best on the Skytrax survey was JetBlue. The scrappy New York-based discounter was named the world's top low-cost airline.

That makes sense to me. After all, JetBlue combines some of its nation's best cultural values. It's innovative -- love that satellite TV service -- with an energetic workforce. On the operations side, the company hums with an efficiency to make an MBA proud, streamlined from seats to fleet.

Efficiency is good for investors and bargain-hunting consumers, of course. But what if you long for a bit of luxury? Fly the friendly skies -- of Asia.

Best overall

1. Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong
2. Qantas Airways, Australia
3. Emirates, Dubai
4. Singapore Airlines, Singapore
5. British Airways, United Kingdom
6. Malaysia Airlines, Malaysia
7. Thai Airways, Thailand
8. Qatar Airways, Qatar
9. Asiana Airlines, South Korea
10. ANA All Nippon Airways, Japan

 

[PHXFLYR]

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