Located at the crossroads between Asia, Africa, and Europe,
airlines in the Middle East are well positioned to compete
for traffic connecting these regions. About 80 percent of
the world’s population lives within an eight-hour flight of the
Gulf, allowing carriers in the Middle East to aggregate traffic
at their hubs and offer one-stop service between many city
pairs that would not otherwise enjoy such direct itineraries.
Partnerships of various kinds also feed Middle East hubs, and
between organic growth with selective code sharing, equity
stakes in a range of out-of-region carriers, and traditional
alliance membership, no single strategy has emerged as
dominant. Each of these strategies creates opportunities to
coordinate schedules across national boundaries, further
enhancing the appeal of services connecting the Middle East.
The region’s low-cost carriers have also been innovative,
reducing short-haul fares, setting up cross-border subsidiaries,
and developing mobile booking portals to improve access
to air services. The business model is evolving as carriers
broaden offerings to include business-class seating and as
they expand networks into previously underserved areas,
such as the Commonwealth of Independent States.