Why Are Middle Eastern Airlines Known For Being So Luxurious?

The airlines based in the Middle East, such as

Qatar Airways

(QR),

Etihad Airways

(EY), and

Emirates

(EK) are known for the luxury that they offer.

The services on these carriers range from the most luxurious premium cabins, to business-class cabins furnished with double-bed arrangements, and fully private suites. Let’s dive deeper into why luxuries offered by these carriers are in a league on their own.

Photo: Emirates

Some glimpses into the luxury that Middle East airlines offer:

• Fly Emirates: The Airbus A380 operated by Fly Emirates consists of a bar and a shower
• Qatar Airways: The business class Qsuites of Qatar can be configured into a four-person family or work area. The seats can be converted into a double bed.

• Etihad Airways: The new

  Airbus A380

  operated by EY offers a lounge on their upper deck.

George Hobica reported for USA Today that the airlines in the Middle East focus on the little details, making them stand out from other airlines. In her review of her business class flight on Qatar to Doha, she writes:

“The bottled water is Vittel from France, not one filtered from an urban water supply like you’d get on American. Ground staff dress as smartly as flight attendants, with hats and trim uniforms. Menus are presented in a leather binder. The meal, a braised lamb shank in my case, was worthy of a Michelin star or two, and the lemon tart would make a Parisian pastry chef yellow with envy.”

Photo: M101Studio | Shutterstock

Hobica also reported that on the way back to the US, passengers could clear US immigration and customs in Abu Dhabi. This was another of those minor points that added up to the excellence in the services of the carriers.

The Middle East (airlines) is located perfectly

The Middle East is located almost perfectly between the eastern and western hemispheres. This means that a lot of people who want to fly from the eastern end of the world to the western will make a stop in the Middle East.

So if you are looking to fly from Miami to Bali with a single stop, the only choice you have is Qatar Airways, reported USA Today. The newspaper claimed that the same was true for a similar flight from Philadelphia to Guangzhou, China. If you want to get from Geneva to Manila, you can choose to travel via Etihad or Qatar.

How the Hub and Spoke Model has helped ME3 offer luxury

Aviation analysts have seen that the

hub and spoke model is on the rise

. The rise of this model, instead of point-to-point travel, has given soft power to the airlines in the carriers in the Middle East, as more airlines are connecting to other parts of the world via the Middle East.

Photo: Emirates

Direct flights between two cities often have a higher airfare than connecting flights. So, passengers who are price-sensitive would only be the ones taking a connecting flight in the Middle East. Further, the native population in the Middle East is quite low. So, the need for travel (for the native and other population) in nations such as the UAE and Qatar is quite low.

What this means for the ME3 (this is what the three big airlines in the Middle East are referred to) is that they need to offer better services to lure passengers to take a connecting flight offered by them. Arabamerica.com reported:

” to compete for premium passengers who would normally take the non-stop flight, Middle East carriers have no choice but to offer a better onboard experience than the non-stop flight would provide. And, because these carriers still rely on connections their experience will still have to be cheaper. In other words, offering a better onboard experience will attract more passengers to connect with your airline because many passengers would much rather take a cheaper flight on a much better airline, than a worse flight flying direct. ”

Some other initiatives taken by the ME3 for a better travel experience

The big three airlines have also spent a considerable sum of money on developing the airport infrastructure. Bettering the airport infrastructure with advanced facilities has led to a 38% increase in the utilization of hubs in the Middle East. The effort to make the airports state-of-the-art also comes with the proposed growth of the aviation industry by 17% by 2035.

Photo: Etihad

The director of Aerviva Aviation Consultancy, Jainita Hogervorst, talked to Air Cargo Weekly about the infrastructure upgrade in the Middle East airports – something that adds to the luxuriousness of flying with the ME3:

“Aviation hubs at the international airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Hamad in Doha have become a critical part of the global aviation network as facilitators of seamless connectivity between Asia, Europe, and Africa. And they are driving an evolution of aviation infrastructure as increasingly modern hubs that cater to diverse flight distances..”

Some other initiatives taken by ME3 to improve the passenger experience include:

• The airlines in the Middle East have reduced their emissions by 23% in the last half a decade.

• Airlines such as Emirates have announced that there will be an aggressive recruitment of new pilots for their

  Airbus A350

  s and Boeing 777-Xs. ME3 will recruit more than a thousand pilots.