Once upon a time, if not Air India, the Lufthansa and British Airways were the number one airline preferred by Indians traveling to the USA’s East Coast. For the West Coast, passengers usually preferred Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific.
However, over time, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways captured a large share of the market and became the most preferred airlines, pushing back the earlier leaders. This shift happened largely because of the top-class, world-class service offered by the UAE and Qatar-based airlines.
But with the Iran–US–Israel conflict affecting the Gulf region, for the first time Emirates Airlines is facing strong headwinds. Ticket prices on Emirates were always higher than many competitors, but now they are cheaper than those of other airlines.
Threats to Dubai airports and the possibility of passengers being stranded have added to the uncertainty, leading to lower demand for these airlines.
If this situation continues for more than a month, it could take at least a year for Emirates to recover and return to normal operations. For a full recovery, the world must clearly see that peace prevails across the entire Gulf region and that there is no aggression between nations there.
The UAE and Qatar are experiencing collateral damage whenever conflicts arise in the region, even when they are not directly involved. This reality is being demonstrated again during the current tensions.
If the conflict continues for a long period, similar to the war between Russia and Ukraine, no one knows when these leading UAE and Qatar airlines will fully recover.
Not only for Indians, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways have become some of the world’s favorite airlines for travel between the USA, Europe, the Middle East, and even several African tourist destinations.
There is still a long way to go for the UAE and Qatar to rebuild passenger confidence. They must clear the fears and uncertainties from travelers’ minds and restore trust before their airlines can fully return to their previous momentum, even after the conflict ends.