Network Shifting in the Global Aviation - The Gulf Carriers’ Impact

The aviation business is in a perpetual change and has fundamentally changed the way we live in the 20th and 21st century. Even though it might have lost some of its glamorous and exclusive entitlement accessible only for the elite it still remains a fascinating industry which explains the attention media attributes for coverage like missing airplanes like recently of Malaysian Airlines MH370 but also positive events such as the inauguration of the new jetliners of the 21st century like the Airbus 380 or Boeing 787. In the past 25 years the aviation industry has been increasingly influenced by the so called Gulf carriers from the Middle East. Not only have they tapped into the incumbent carriers’ markets but opened unconventional routes which have not been economically viable formerly. What are their competitor’s reactions? And what are the Gulf carriers’ plans in order to sustain growth and how will they manage to fill their planes for which they placed orders in gigantic amounts? Will they succeed in re-establishing the new silk road of the 21st century with the Middle East hubs as the main crossroad for global travel?