Emirates has warned of “more casualties” in the aviation industry if oil prices continue to soar.
President of group services and dnata, Gary Chapman, pointed to airline collapses in Europe such as SpanAir, along with losses for Air France and Lufthansa, as an illustration of the tough environment.
In addition, while Middle Eastern carriers were still making money, he conceded they were “substantially down” on previous years.
“The ability to pass on fuel prices to the consumer is questionable. I just don’t think the elasticity is there,” Chapman told Travel Today.
But while fuel prices would play a “key part” in the aviation outlook over the next 12 months, he remained confident travel would continue to flourish.
“There will be obstacles in the form of infrastructure, taxes and air traffic issues but those things eventually get sorted out – they just slow you down or divert traffic,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chapman revealed that demand for travel to Japan was recovering. The carrier will resume its A380 service into Tokyo from July. “A number of airlines reduced their services. Emirates didn’t,” he said.
He admitted the move saw the carrier “pay a price” as load factors fell to 70%, and 80% cross the network.
“But now we’re back at 85%,” he said.
The carrier used the same long term approach with Christchurch after its earthquake last year, although the route continued to be difficult, he said.
“Some of the other carriers pulled out of Christchurch, but that obviously benefits us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Emirates is re-building its services to Cairo in the wake of last year’s Arab Spring.
He highlighted the Middle East region as “very strong, adding that while geopolitical issues continue “they’ve always been there”.
