Emirates and Qatar Airways have said there are options beyond America as they adjust routes in the wake of limits placed by the US government on how Middle East carriers fly into the country.
US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed a ban on inflight use of devices larger than smartphones last month. The ban has led to notable decline on traffic on Emirates, and Qatar Airways too has said there has acknowledged a “manageable” drop in bookings.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker has been vocal about his thoughts on whether to continue flying to the US. Baker announced yesterday at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai that he would add 26 new routes by March 2018, including one to San Francisco, its 15th US destination.
“We didn’t have massive declines like other carriers, so we still have robust loads to the US…I have said we will not cut routes to the US, and we’ve even added one. But if what has been happening continues, then we will see. The US is not the whole world,” he said.
There has been speculation about the actual intent of the ban after questions were raised over its actual effectiveness and the rationale for placing airports in the region otherwise recognised for their security processes on the list of those from which threats were expected.
Al Baker said that he doesn’t think there was a commercial motivation to the restrictions placed but hoped President Trump would not “buy into bullying by the three American carriers.”
Emirates too has voiced similar sentiments, with President Tim Clark saying he was “surprised by the ban.” The world’s largest international carrier recently announced it is cutting 25 flights on five out of the 12 US cities it serves in favour of those to Malaysia, Oceania and Africa.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Clark said, “Unintended consequences need to be dealt with by the US,” as it’s also losing out on “pretty robust and powerful spending” capacity of families making leisure visits from the Middle East.
Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ chief commercial officer, has previously said that growth in China was helping the Dubai-based airline offset headwinds in the US with double-digit increases in demand.
Meanwhile Etihad Airways has said it is not planning to cut services on its US routes, citing strong demand despite restrictions.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline has experienced “no significant change in demand” on flights to and from the US in recent weeks, it said in a statement.
“Demand continues to remain strong on all 45 weekly services between Abu Dhabi and its six US gateways of New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Dallas,” it said.
The airline’s is set to upgrade its second daily Abu Dhabi-New York service to an A380 from June 1, making its twice-daily flights on the route an all superjumbo operation.
“This demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the US market regardless of recent developments,” the airline said.
Etihad’s resilience in demand for US travel might come from a pre-screening facility in Abu Dhabi, which Qatar Airways CEO said the airline is paying for. “We do not want to pay for any such facility. Our job is just to transport passengers,” he said.