Flight Friday: A Mixed Recovery For The Middle East’s Connector Carriers

With the aviation community converging for the Dubai Airshow, this week’s Flight Friday looks at the post-pandemic recovery of the Middle East’s major carriers by comparing flights to the equivalent month in 2019.

The nature of the large connector carriers hampered their recovery post-COVID, as their business is connecting a globe that was in lockdown. However, since the beginning of 2023, there has been some sustained recovery.

Qatar Airways operates the greatest number of flights by a Middle Eastern operator. It has a fleet that is comprised not only of widebody aircraft, but also of narrowbody aircraft, which helps add to the monthly cycle count. From late 2023, Qatar has been operating more monthly flights than the equivalent month in 2019 and has maintained that uptick in flights to recent times.

Emirates operates the second-highest number of flights in recent times, with its fleet of widebody aircraft; however, that figure remains a fraction below 2019 levels. This is partly due to a handful fewer aircraft in Emirates’ fleet, with 15 fewer Boeing 777-300ERs, which were replaced by 13 Airbus A350-1000s, and the A380 is still to return to service.

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) is third in terms of monthly flights. Again, this mixed fleet has struggled to get many months higher than 2019 levels. Like Emirates, the reduction in monthly utilization is partly down to a slightly smaller fleet with the removal of the A330-200 fleet and a reduction of 10 A320s which were replaced by A321neos.

Etihad Airways has the lowest monthly flight count; however, the operator has increased, as a percentage, the most. Operating at levels at more than 15% higher than in 2019, Etihad’s slightly larger fleet has been out to task, completing many flights. Historically, however, it took Etihad longer to recover than the other carriers, with levels in 2023 much lower than the other carriers.

This data was put together using Aviation Week’s Tracked Aircraft Utilization database.