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 Low-cost aviation in the Middle East (Economist, 2013)
In many parts of the world, low-cost carriers are synonymous with no-frills flying. The liberalisation of the world's more mature aviation markets has resulted in intense competition on short-haul sectors, prompting cost-conscious airlines to strip out all but the most sential services. The Middle East has yet to tear down its aviation regulations, so its new breed of low-cost carriers has developed a less Spartan ethos.
"In this world, you don't have a one-size-fits-all model," says Marwan Boodai, chairman of Jazeera Airways, a Kuwaiti low-cost carrier founded in 2005. Along with three other low-cost carriers--UAE-based FlyDubai and Air Arabia, plus Saudi Arabia's Nas Air--Jazeera is trving to inject competition into a marketolace stli dominated by state-owned legacy airlines. It is not easy. "Our consumers have high expectations with the low-cost model," Mr Boodai notes, quipping that withholding caviar is one way of trimming costs. (He is only half ioking:the big three Gulf airlines-Ethad, Emirates and Qatar Airways-all dish out the black stuff in first class.)
No luxury for Jazeera's customers, then, but more the occasional frill to keep them content. The Kuwaiti airline gives its passengers a whopping free-baggage allowance of 40kg on short-haul flights. That also includes complimentary on-board meals. This emphasis on preserving quality is epitomised by the rise of business-class products. Nas Air offers three different fare types with vanying degrees of flexility. Jazeera reserves a section of its all-economy-configured aircraft for premium traffic, leaving middle seats vacand separating the classes with a curtain. FlyDubai took this one step further in June, unveiling a dedicated business-class cabin with larger, more extravagant seats. "The middle-seat option was not something that appealed to us," says the boss of FlyDubai. "We low-cost because of how we manage ourselves. But to be be seen as a product of Dubai, we must do things properly."