Competing with lower fares – the upside of competition for travelers

EMIRATES REACTS TO MARKET CHANGES WITH REBATES OF UP TO 25 PERCENT

(Posted 01st September 2014)

Following the confirmation that FlyDubai will commence daily flights from Dubai to Entebbe has flag carrier Emirates reacted with an announcement of lower fares, available for bookings until the 06th of September and flights to be completed by 03rd of December. In particular the fare to Dubai at US Dollars 477 return has indicated that the airline does indeed expect to do battle for passengers when ‘cousin’ FlyDubai arrives at the scene later in September. Market analysts have however pointed to the lower fares on offer for such destinations like London (644 USD), New York (1.197), Guangzhou (852 USD), Mumbai (498 USD) and others where the main thrust of the special offer aims. ‘It is inevitable that point to point traffic, final destination Dubai, may begin to shift to FlyDubai because they will absolutely have lower fares. Those travelling in economy for sure will be tempted by better deals because for every dollar they save on the ticket they can invest in shopping for merchandise. The real issue is competition between the big league airlines. Emirates has to contend with the Europeans like Brussels, BA and KLM which are always good for deals for long haul connections like to the US. They also offer faster connections because of shorter distances. Qatar comes daily to Entebbe and Etihad has announced their plans so Emirates has their work cut out for them and there will be a lot more special offers coming to keep their passenger share intact’ commented a regular aviation source from Entebbe.

Notably has Emirates also launched similar offers in Kenya, Tanzania and also Ethiopia, confirming pundits’ opinions that EK is simply reacting to general market conditions and not specifically responding to the arrival of FlyDubai with flights to Entebbe, Bujumbura and Kigali. Time will tell so keep watching this space to catch the latest breaking news from Eastern Africa’s aviation scene.