Strong demand for Middle East carriers in August

Etihad increased cargo capacity in June on the Switzerland and US routes. Jaime Puebla / The National

Passenger demand for Middle Eastern airlines remained strong in August despite conflict throughout the region.

The passenger load factor was close to 83 per cent, an increase of five percentage points from July, and 1 percentage point from August last year.

That was the second-highest globally after Europe, according to August data from the International Air Traffic Association (Iata).

The growth in European air travel is facing some headwinds from an “increasingly worrying economic outlook” and sanctions over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, said Tony Tyler, the chief executive and director general of Iata.

The Middle East also recorded growth in international travel, which rose 11.7 per cent from a year earlier. In the rest of the world, Latin America led the international travel ranking followed by Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. Despite the spread of the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization has not yet put restrictions on air travel.

The overall passenger load factor, however, has been falling this year with an increase in capacity. Capacity grew by 10.3 per cent for Middle Eastern airlines in August year-on-year.

Increasing its fleet size, Qatar Airways will get its first mid-size, long-range A350-900 by the end of the year.

Cargo volumes increased in August over July and were led by Asia-Pacific carriers. The increase, however, was offset by the rise in cargo capacity.

Etihad increased cargo capacity in June on the Switzerland and US routes to 510 tonnes of weekly capacity and 940 tonnes, respectively.

The Iata figures are expected to encourage regional airlines such as Etihad and Emirates, which increased their capacity in the third quarter. Etihad increased its capacity on the Athens route in July to 10 flights a week from seven. It also added two new flights to Larnaca in Cyprus.

Emirates, which globally is the largest airline based on available seats per kilometre, announced a strategic partnership with TAAG Angola Airlines. While it is not known whether Emirates will increase capacity on the Africa route with the deal, it is expected to benefit from the small but lucrative market of Angola's oil-based economy. Emirates has seven weekly flights to Angola.

The Dubai-based carrier announced the partnership last week, more than a year after its successful tie-up with the Australian carrier Qantas. Emirates has a 10-year contract to manage the airline.

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