Etihad Airways and RAK Airways sign codeshare deal

Etihad Airways and RAK Airways sign codeshare deal | GulfNews.com

This make me laugh. Do you know why? RAK Airways is marketed as a low cost carrier but it has certain frills, and Etihad is aiming to be a boutique carrier. RAK Airways has had a rocky start, it was shut down initially then restarted and now its plagued with lengthy delays. Etihad seems to be partnering up with a lot of airlines and investing in ailing airlines. Previously AirBerlin and Etihad have signed a partnership deal - Etihad heavily investing in the airline and boom, Etihad demanded change of the AirBerlin CEO....

Anyway the partnership of Etihad with airberlin might be a good move, since Etihad will not become a global player but remain mostly as a regional player. Emirates has taken the position of global player in the market years back. Etihad service might be much better, but it does not compare in terms of sheer size when you put Emirates in the picture. What's funnier is the start of Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah flights. Now, I do know that RAK is trying to come up as an Emirate in the UAE by luring in investors at its free zone and its also become much easier to start a business in RAK but I just don't see the market potential. 

Dubai and Abu Dhabi have crossed the limits and they were the first two emirates to invest in a free economy and well they are reaping the benefits. RAK has woken up too late, i think trying to compete with these two might be a tough task as Abu Dhabi has ample amount of money to support itself and also Dubai. The distance between Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah is a mere 234 kms, which traditonally people have been driving. UAE does have a wonderful network of roads which allows this. RAK is not a business center or a major tourist destination. Most tourists bound for RAK fly into Dubai or Abu Dhabi and then tour operators have already arranged transport for them. 

Anyway for me a domestic flight in the UAE is pointless, the partnership between the two arilines is also pointless, but who knows they might make it work? It two totally opposite business models trying to make it work. More over, flights between Abu Dhabi and RAK are also not worth the effort, the drive down is much more scenic and less hectic than going through check-in, security, etc etc.... and lets not forget about RAK Airline's on time performance.

Qantas, Emirates sign partnership deal

Qantas, Emirates sign partnership deal | GulfNews.com

Reading the above article, well of-course i had my views to express. What I don't understand is Qantas, an age old player in the market doesn't have a strong hold in the European market, but alas it is a part of One World alliance which gives it access to numerous destinations in Europe via British Airways, which is also a part of OneWorld, besides BA, Qantas has an access to a numerous amount of destinations via Germany (Air Berlin). 

Moving on, what other benefits would Qantas have to sign a partnership with Emirates - Indian subcontinent and Africa. Well Cathay Pacific is well covered within India. Africa is a big loop hole and maybe Emirates would be able to fill that. For its European destinations, Qantas has a scissor hub at Singapore, which is a Star Alliance dominated territory. Much of the move to sign a partnership deal seems a bit pointless to me. Qantas could easily make the Australia - India route work with its own aircraft.

Emirates, I don't see much of a gain in this. Partnering with Qantas doesn't boost anything for Emirates since it already has a good market presence in the Australian market. 

Well that's how i see it, let's see what happens in the future, maybe this is a strategic move on the part of Emirates as it tries to tap into the lucrative Australasia to West Coast US market which it has been trying to do for years now. 

The Air India Refut

The Article

Before you start reading my post, read the article above. Just a brief background, the Mint is an online newspaper which is a joint venture between The Hindustan Times and The Wall Street Journal. 

Couple of years back there was talk of Air India possibly joining Star Alliance in order to help the ailing carrier with passengers and access to different markets throughout the globe. Just recently before joining into the alliance, its entry was revoked by Lufthansa and other Star Alliance members. It was given 5 years with further extensions to comply with the Star Alliance integration but according to Star, it was unsuccessful. 

Air India has leaked out the emails that have gone between Star and itself and how they have now turned their attention to Jet Airways, the whole scenario is explained in the article. It makes an interesting read but there are certain things that just don't add up. 

Since the deal didn't go through, Air India's response was predictable. Rather than admitting to its own faults it has gone all out on blaming Star Alliance for the deal falling through. Because, as we all know, Air India is a shining beacon of meeting goals and requirements. 

I am no Air India apologist nor am I for Star Alliance. Untimely, I think, Star is a business, they would do whatever best suits them. For the Government of India to bend over backwards to allow all this to happen under their nose was not Star's fault. I am sure, India is big economy to handle itself. They didn't need to allow extra frequencies to and from Germany to India exclusively for Luftansa. They could have denied it all together. Now that Air India wasn't able to get it  together, now they blame Jet and Lufthansa. 

Again, how the GOI could have allowed this to happen i am not sure. Bypassing Air India (a government entity) and then allowing a go-ahead for Jet a private Indian airline. Frankly speaking, I doubt Jet's entry into Star Alliance would be beneficial as Singapore Airlines is already a founder member. This situation is very similar to the one where Air India put an arbitrary amount "owed" by Boeing due to the delay of its 787 aircraft delivery. Boeing had then made it very clear that the amounts, in case of a delay, were mentioned in the contract and that they are not liable to pay a penny more than that. Did no one read the contracts?

I wonder how long this airline would be run by the government. As i always say, there is so much potential for the airline, but due to the government interference, its been run aground. India is a country of more than a billion people, of which even if 30% have a disposable income or travel by air, AI is due to succeed. NRI's and POI's would prefer to fly their own airline only if it were more reliable and more accessible.