Qatar Airways to launch Business Class-only service to London Heathrow

By Jonny Clark, TheDesignAir

24 February 2014 | Qatar Airways has announced the launch of a new daily all-premium Business Class service from its hub in Doha to London Heathrow. Mirroring the Business-only product currently run by British Airways from London City Airport to New York JFK, the new service will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and will commence on 15 May 2014.

Qatar Airways will fit an A319 aircraft with an all Business Class, single aisle, 2–2 seating configuration offering 40 seats – slightly larger than the 32 seats on BA’s A318 that operates the LCY – JFK route.

Full-flat bed, big-screen IFE, connectivity

Delta raises the bar in Business Class with new enclosed ‘Delta One Suites’

This article first appeared on TheDesignAir

26 August 2016 | When airlines such as Qatar Airways have announced recently they are working on brand new Business Class seats and Emirates is working on new First Class suites, it was a surprising twist to see Delta, a US carrier, to leap-frog the Gulf-based competition with an adapted Thomson Aero Seating product by UK-based design agency Factorydesign.

Business Class ‘Suite’
The new Delta One Suite is the first Business Class cabin in the world to feature a sliding door for each suite – a feature normally saved for First Class passengers. The doors are a key part of Delta and Factorydesign’s collaborative efforts to improve customer comfort and privacy. The industrial design consultancy worked in close partnership with Delta and seat manufacturer Thompson Aero Seating throughout the design, development and engineering process to achieve this.

The word “cabin” is important in this announcement, as JetBlue’s Mint product offers 4 mini-suites on their aircraft featuring sliding doors, however, the rest of the seats don’t offer this level of privacy.

The seat may look familiar, and follows the traditional 1 x 2 x 1 staggered forward facing design that Delta has already adopted in many of its long-haul aircraft. In fact the product has more in common with SAS’ new Thomson Vantage XL seats that the London based design firm also worked on.

Privacy
The ability to add doors was driven by the A350’s extra width, explains Factory design’s senior designer Ryan Graham. “The high degree of customization possible with Thompson’s seating platform enabled us to

Cathay cuts A340s as A350s roll in

17 AUGUST, 2016
BY: MAVIS TOH
SINGAPORE

Cathay Pacific is moving to retire all its Airbus A340-300s by the end of 2017, as it prepares to take A350-900s in quick succession over the next two years.

In the release of its first-half results, the Hong Kong carrier says it has retired two A340s so far this year, and will retire another in the second half of the year. The four remaining A340s will be retired in 2017.

The airline has meanwhile been busy adding A350s, having already taken delivery of three of the widebodies since May, and with nine more due for the rest of the year. Ten more of the type are scheduled to be delivered in 2017.

“The A350-900XWBs are fuel efficient and have the right range, capacity and operating economics for our requirements,” it adds.

The Oneworld airline will retire its last three 747-400 passenger aircraft by October. It has also delivered two 747 freighters to Boeing this year, and will hand over the final two in August and September. These aircraft were sold to Boeing as part of an order for three 747-8Fs, which have already been delivered to Cathay.

As of 30 June, Cathay operated a fleet of 145 aircraft, about half of which are owned, comprising of A330s, A340s, A350s, 747s and 777s. It has firm orders for 12 aircraft in 2016, with no leases due this year.

The Cathay Pacific Group's operating profit for the first half of the year plunged 71.9% to HK$664 million ($85.6 million), impacted by intense competition and downward pressure on yields, as well as a hefty loss on fuel hedging. Attributable net profit also fell 82% to HK$353 million.

Crashing, Burning Planes Don’t Stop Passengers From Grabbing Their Luggage

Ever considered taking your bags in an emergency despite those instructions to leave them behind? You’re not the only one.

If your flight has an emergency and you’re told to evacuate, be certain that at least two things will happen. You’ll experience the adrenaline rush of a lifetime, for one. But you’ll also hear the urgent commands of flight attendants telling you to leave your bags behind. Yes, all of them. Laptops and purses, too.

Maybe the adrenaline is causing temporary deafness. Materialism has been winning out over self-preservation as air travelers often ignore the order to drop everything, a fact illustrated in recent years by laden passengers fleeing a burning 777 in San Francisco or a Delta Air Lines Inc. jet that skidded off a snowy New York runway. The latest example came on Wednesday, when an Emirates Airline flight crashed on landing in Dubai, followed by a severe fire that consumed much of the Boeing 777-300. Video showed some travelers collecting luggage before they escaped. All 282 passengers and 18 crew survived, but an airport firefighter died while battling the blaze.

This Is How 300 People Escaped a Fiery Crash Landing in Dubai

Lessons learned from past tragedies have made modern aircraft much safer. The Emirates disaster is a prime example.


An Emirates jumbo jet crash lands in Dubai, suffers an apparent engine explosion, and loses most of its top section to fire. The plane comes to rest looking as though someone used a giant, flame-throwing can opener to rip off the length of the cabin.

Despite this tremendous mechanical violence, all 300 people aboard escaped with their lives. How did this happen?

The short answer is engineering and training.

The incident involving Flight 521, a Boeing Co. 777-300 on a flight from India, resembled the July 2013 crash landing of an Asiana Boeing 777-200 in San Francisco, which clipped a seawall, flipped, and then burned near a runway. Only three of the 291 passengers on that flight died—a 99 percent survival rate—while the jet was destroyed.

Pilot tells crew he ‘didn’t want a death on his flight’

A FURIOUS mum claims Emirates Airlines kicked her six-year-old son off a plane for having a life-threatening nut allergy because the pilot “didn’t want a death on his flight”.

Nicola O’Shea, a 43-year-old nurse from England, was flying from Gatwick Airport to Dubai for a week-long holiday with her three daughters Taylor, 24, Megan, 20, Logan, 13, Taylor’s partner Ricky, 27, and her youngest son Chester.

Despite claiming she told the airline about his allergy on countless occasions, she says the stewardess kicked the family off the plane.

“I was absolutely furious — I couldn’t believe they were kicking us off the plane because Chester has a nut allergy. It’s not his fault,” she told The Sun.

“To add insult to injury they were so insensitive. It was embarrassing having everyone on the plane watching us walk off.”

Air India To Recruit 500 Pilots, 1,500 Cabin Crew

Air India may recruit about 500 pilots and over 1,500 cabin crew in next two to three years to meet the requirement as the fleet size is expected to increase considerably, a senior official has said.

"We are planning to have 700 more pilots in the next two to three years keeping in view the fleet expansion. From last August till now, we have already recruited 250 pilots. So about 500 more pilots we are going to recruit. Advertisement for 400 pilots has already been floated," AI's General Manager (Operations) N Sivaramakirshnan told PTI.

Last year, Air India had sought to recruit 200 trainee pilots (senior trainee pilot license holders who come with A320 endorsement). However, it could select only 78. Now all those pilots are flying on various routes, he said.

Nearly 150 pilots are expected to complete their training by December this year. According to him, the present strength of pilots is 858 and the beleaguered airlines lost about 100 pilots during the last two years.

"We have plans to have cabin crew of 3,000 personnel. Besides the existing number, we are planning to take 1,500 more in the next two to three years," he said.

The official said Air India envisaged fleet expansion of another 100 aircraft in the next four years' time.

On training facilities for pilots, the official said currently they have three simulators in Hyderabad and four in Mumbai. The simulators in Hyderabad belong to A320 while the four in Mumbai belong to Boeing family.

"We are planning to order one more simulator for training on ATR aircraft in Hyderabad. RFI (Request for Information) has already been floated. By January next year we hope that it would be operational," he said, adding that the cost of the simulator would be about Rs 65 crore and an additional Rs 6 crore is needed for construction of building and other facilities for the ATR simulator.

Though Air India does not have any ATRs in its fleet, services will be provided to its wholly-owned subsidiary 'Alliance Air'.

Alaska Airlines adds new routes to New York Newark

Alaska Airlines announced today a significant expansion to the New York City area with multiple new routes to Newark Liberty International Airport.

The new service comes as the Federal Aviation Administration approved Alaska Airlines’ request to operate four additional daily flights to Newark. New service from Newark, New Jersey to Portland, Oregon and San Diego, California will start in November 2016, with new service to San Jose, California beginning in March 2017. A third daily departure from Seattle, Washington to Newark, New Jersey will be added in May 2017.

“We thank the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for their efforts to increase competition in the New York metro area,” said John Kirby, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of capacity planning.

“Since 2015, Alaska has launched 28 new routes from our West Coast hubs and focus cities. With our new expanded service to Newark, we continue to grow our West Coast footprint by offering our valued customers more nonstop flights to popular business and leisure destinations.”

Alaska’s new Portland-Newark service continues the airline’s expansion of its Portland hub which includes other recently added destinations such as Minneapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Orlando; Omaha, Nebraska; and Atlanta. The newly added Newark service will be the only daytime nonstop from Portland to the Garden State.

The new San Diego-Newark service is the third East Coast destination from the airline’s Southern California focus city, which will give San Diego travelers access to one of the largest business markets in the world.


The new San Jose-Newark service marks the first nonstop flight between the two cities and provides Silicon Valley customers a convenient new option for travel to the New York City area.

In the spring, the airline will also add a third flight between Seattle and Newark, complementing the two existing daily nonstop flights from the Emerald City.

Vistara appoints new Chief Information Officer

Vistara, India’s fastest-growing full service airline, announced the appointment of Mr. Ravinder Pal Singh as its Chief Information Officer.

Ravinder Pal Singh (Ravi), in his new role, will lead Vistara’s IT and Innovation functions. He will consolidate, identify, acquire, evaluate and incubate the right technology to support the airline’s IT and digital platforms. He will also be responsible to induce innovation as core to Vistara’s culture thereby creating communities and co-creation projects to realize ideas as true business differentiators.

Ravi has been instrumental in establishing various IT organizations and creating their future technology avatars. He brings in profound global experience, with expertise in IT-based strategic planning and execution in almost 5 continents. His background includes leadership positions in top global technology and management consulting firms, where he focused on driving their Fortune500 customers and government institutions towards transformation. For his contribution in the field of information and technology, Ravi has received many accolades such as CIO 100 Winner 2015, Digital Transformational Leader 2015, 2015 Cloud Computing Innovation Award, India and CeBIT Digital Transformational Leadership Award 2015. He was also recognized as one of the most dynamic CIOs who leveraged the word transformation in all forms.

Prior to joining Vistara, Ravi served as the Global Chief Information and Technology Officer at one of India’s leading providers of aviation maintenance repair and overhaul, Air Works. Previously, he has been associated with corporates such as Microsoft, Accenture and Wipro, and is a holder of several technology patents.

“I am excited to be a part of Vistara, a company that is the amalgamation of two iconic brands, TATA and Singapore airlines and is at the forefront in the product & service innovation space. I am looking forward to transforming its IT platforms and making it a technology disruptor in this sector. This will help in accelerating the business growth and reveal the hidden potential in the organisation,” said Ravinder Pal Singh.

Welcoming Ravi on board, Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara said:

“I am happy to welcome Ravi to the Vistara family. Ravi is a seasoned technology expert and we are keen to leverage his extensive technology leadership experience to enhance the level of operational excellence at Vistara and delivering greater value to our customers.”

Emirates to Operate One-Off A380 Flight to Chicago

For the first time in the airport’s history, on July 19 2016 Emirates will fly one of its flagship A380 aircraft into Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Emirates has been invited by O’Hare International Airport, the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) and the City of Chicago to test the gate, operations and significant infrastructure improvements that have been implemented to accommodate A380 service.

Emirates is the world’s largest operator of A380 aircraft, the world’s largest commercial jet, with 81 of this aircraft type flying customers in comfort across the globe – including to 4 cities in the USA.

“Chicago has welcomed us from the day Emirates commenced daily flights from Dubai in 2014, and we are honored to work alongside the City, airport, and department of aviation, to bring the A380 for a test flight to this exciting and progressive city,” said Rob Gurney, Emirates’ Senior Vice President of The Americas.

“Over the last two years, Emirates flights have carried over 160,000 passengers from Chicago to Dubai and beyond for both business and leisure travel and have carried more than 60,000 tons of cargo, supporting tourism, business and exporters. Many of our customers from Chicago and surrounding areas have already experienced the Emirates A380 seamless and convenient connections from our hub in Dubai to more than 40 destinations across our network, including the Middle East, South Asia, and the Far East.”

“The arrival of Emirates’ A380 plane to O’Hare International Airport is exciting for the city of Chicago,” said CDA Commissioner Ginger S. Evans.

“The improvement we’ve made at O’Hare to accommodate the A380 is one of many projects underway that will make Chicago more competitive and attractive for passengers and businesses. I want to thank Emirates for its commitment to Chicago.”

Emirates’ existing Boeing 777 service to Chicago provides USD $383 million in annual economic benefit, contributes over USD $153 million in annual spending by visitors, and helps to support over 3000 U.S jobs, according to Campbell-Hill Aviation Group.

Airbus and Boeing are bailing Iran out of a huge problem

Iran’s beleaguered national airline is finally getting some relief.

On Wednesday, news emerged from Tehran, the Iran Air has reportedly reached an agreement with Boeing for 100 airliners.

Should the rumored Boeing deal reach completion, it would be Iran Air’s second multibillion airplane acquisition this year.

In January, Iran Air and Airbusagreed to a historic deal for 118 airliners with a list value topping $25 billion.

On Thursday, Iran Air got even more good news.

The European Commission announced that it will allow the airline to once again fly into European airspace.

“Following my visit to Iran in April, a technical assessment was successfully carried out in May,” EU transport commissioner Violeta Bulc said in a statement.

“Based on this I am happy to announce that we are now also able to allow most aircraft from Iran Air back into European skies.”

Since the Revolution of 1979, the country has suffered through decades of severe economic sanctions that have had a devastating effect on the country’s commercial aviation industry and its national airline.

Iran Air, once one of the region’s most respected airlines, has fallen on hard times.

For much of the past 30 years, trade sanctions have prevented the airline from acquiring new planes directly from western airplane makers.

As a result, Iran Air have been forced to make do with an aging fleet of early generation Airbus aircraft and pre-revolution Boeing jumbo jets. According to Airfleets.net, Iran Air’s fleet of 46 jets have an average age of 27 years with its fleet of Boeing 747s pushing 40 years of service.

And what planes they do have, the airline often struggles to find adequate spare parts to keep them running properly.

Accidents resulting for mechanical failures became increasingly common, leading the EU to ban most of Iran Air’s planes in 2010.

NORTH AMERICA UPS, Pilots Reach Tentative Agreement On New Labor Contract

The Independent Pilots Association (IPA) and UPS Airlines today announced a tentative agreement on a new five-year labor contract.

The comprehensive agreement provides for improvements across all sections of the contract. Specific details of the agreement will not be disclosed before the IPA presents the proposed contract to all UPS pilots.

The contract must be ratified by a majority of UPS’s 2,600 pilots. The vote by the pilots will be completed on Aug. 31. If ratified, the new contract will become effective on Sep. 1, 2016, and become amendable on Sep. 1, 2021.

“This tentative agreement has been unanimously approved and endorsed by both the IPA Executive Board and our Negotiating Committee. Over the next month we will present it to our members with an unqualified recommendation for ratification,” said IPA President Captain Robert Travis.

“This is an excellent offer and we are pleased to have reached this agreement,” said Brendan Canavan, UPS Airlines president. “This contract rewards our crewmembers for their outstanding contributions and contains provisions that protect UPS’s ability to deliver competitive service to our global customers.”

The tentative agreement was signed yesterday by the IPA and UPS in the presence of Nicholas Geale, Chairman of the National Mediation Board (NMB). The parties entered mediation in March 2014. Both Travis and Canavan said they “commend the NMB for its guidance and resources over the last 27 months and thank our mediator, Gerry McGuckin, for his oversight and efforts.”

The IPA is the collective bargaining unit representing the more than 2,600 professional pilots who fly for United Parcel Service, the world’s largest transportation company. The IPA is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Delta plane with 130 passengers lands at the wrong airport

The National Transport Safety Board is investigating the landing of a Delta A320 at Ellsworth AFB instead of its intended destination of Rapid City, 7 miles away.

Delta Air Lines confirmed that the flight crew of Delta Flight 2845 on the evening of July 7 conducted a safe landing at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota mistakenly rather than the flight’s intended destination of Rapid City.

The Airbus A320 aircraft, registered N333NW, had 130 passengers on board and was in-bound from Minneapolis/St. Paul. The flight re-departed for Rapid City Thursday night after coordinating with officials.



“Delta has contacted the customers of this flight and offered a gesture of apology for the inconvenience”, the airline said in a statement.

The crew has been taken off-duty while an investigation commences by the National Transportation Safety Board.

“Delta will fully cooperate with that investigation and has already begun an internal review of its own”, the airline added.

Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW) assigned to the Global Strike Command’s Eighth Air Force.

Ellsworth Air Force Base has one runway available:
Runway 13/31 (concrete): 13,497 feet/4.114 meters

Rapid City Airport has two runways available:
Runway 14/32 (concrete): 8,701 feet/2.652 meters
Runway 05/23 (asphalt): 3,601 feet/1.098 meters

Boeing Said Near $4 Billion Deal With Russian Firm to Save 747

Boeing Co. is nearing a $4 billion deal with Russia’s largest air-freight company that would help extend the life of the iconic, hump-nosed 747 jumbo jet amid waning demand for four-engine aircraft, people close to the transaction said.

The U.S. planemaker is in advanced talks with AirBridgeCargo Airlines and its Moscow-based parent, Volga-Dnepr Group, to convert a year-old commitment into more than 10 firm orders for 747-8 freighters, two of the people said. The agreement could be announced as soon as the Farnborough Airshow next month in England, according to four people briefed on the deal, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential.

The deal would provide a crucial lifeline for the “Queen of the Skies” as Boeing tries to preserve production until the air-cargo market revives or shipping companies start to replace aging wide-body fleets. The 747 freighter, prized for a hinged nose that allows large cargo to be loaded at the front, is Boeing’s second-most expensive commercial jet, with a list price of $379.1 million. Buyers typically negotiate discounts.
Converting commitments to firm orders starts the process of allocating manufacturing resources and production slots to build the planes.

Tibet Airlines receives its first A330

Lhasa based Tibet Airlines has received its first widebody aircraft, an A330-200 with increased 242 tonne maximum take-off-weight (MTOW), following a handover in Toulouse, France.

The increased MTOW, the first A330-200 in China, allows airlines to operate from the most demanding high altitude airports where take off performance, additional range and improved operating costs are key.

The aircraft is configured in a three-class cabin layout (12 business, 32 premium economy, 235 economy) and deployed to open up new international routes.

Bai Weisan, President of Tibet Airlines said: “We are extremely excited to receive our first widebody airliner – an enhanced A330 from Airbus and are very confident at its high-altitude performance. The A330 Family will become our core widebody to be deployed on our new international routes thanks to its flexibility, comfort and efficiency. With the A330, we are looking forward more passengers from all over the world to flying with Tibet Airlines and visiting Tibet.”

Eric Chen, President of Airbus China said: “We congratulate Tibet Airlines on receiving its first A330 and we express our gratitude for the confidence demonstrated in our leading A330. With an operating base at high altitude Lhasa Airport and routes covering all of Tibet’s civil airports, the airline already benefits from the unrivalled performance of Airbus single-aisle aircraft. We are proud the A330 is Tibet Airline’s backbone for international route expansion.”

Tibet Airlines currently operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising of 14 A319s and 2 A320s. The airline is famous for its high-altitude operations with its operating base at Lhasa Airport which is at over 3,500 metres altitude. With the proven performance of Airbus narrow body, especially the A319 in high-altitude airports, Tibet Airlines has been successfully connecting Tibet with more domestic cities like Beijing and Shanghai. The A330 is the first widebody equipped with the Required Navigation Performance with Authorisation Required (RNP-AR) and the only widebody airliner today flying over Tibet’s sky. It will exceed the airlines’ expectation on high-altitude performance also offer unrivalled efficiency, also greater comfort to the passengers.

Emirates to deploy flagship A380 aircraft on Moscow route

Emirates has announced that it will be upgrading one of the two daily flights servicing its Dubai-Moscow route to an A380-800, commencing 1st December 2016.

Since Emirates started flying from its Dubai hub to Moscow in 2003, the airline has carried almost 3.5 million passengers on the route. Over the past 12 months, demand has increased, with some 400,000 passengers having travelled on the route. The increased level of passenger support and demand has led to Emirates’ decision to bring its iconic A380 to the Russian capital.

From the beginning of December, on flight EK131/132, the three-class A380-800 will offer 14 Private Suites in First Class and 76 fully flat-bed mini-pods in Business Class on the upper deck. It will also provide Onboard Shower Spas for First Class passengers and the iconic Emirates Onboard Lounge, where First Class and Business Class passengers can socialise at 40,000 feet, both products being unique to the Russian market. An additional 426 seats in Economy, gives a total of 516 seats on the aircraft, increasing the number of seats on the route by 23%.

Air France pilots to strike again

Air France pilot unions SNPL, SPAF and ALTER announced late on June 17 they would strike again from June 24-27.

The announcement follows the breakdown of negotiations last night with the three pilots’ unions (SNPL, SPAF and ALTER) claiming that management of the company had not made any meaningful offers during negotiations.

In a statement, the unions said they had put forward new compromise proposals, but the airline refused to make any decisions before the arrival of Air France-KLM’s new chairman and CEO Mr. Jean-Marc Janaillac. However, they added, the company wanted to press ahead with outstanding actions from its Transform 2015 turnaround plan immediately.

Mr. Janaillac is scheduled to take up the new position when existing chairman and CEO Alexandre de Juniac departs for his new role as IATA’s DG and CEO later this summer.

Air France management said it regretted the notice of new strike action. The last four-day round of walkouts, which affected around 20% of Air France’s flights, ended June 14 and the carrier said the disruption cost it more than €40 million.

Qatar Airways Cargo announces major network expansion

Gulf carrier Qatar Airways Cargo will be a major player in three new regions of the globe within the next year, according to chief officer-cargo Ulrich Ogiermann.

China is a major market for Qatar Airways Cargo, which operates dedicated freighter services to Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong, while the airline’s passenger flights serve those three destinations and provide underfloor cargo space to Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing and Hangzhou.

“Last year, we succeeded in becoming the world’s third largest international cargo carrier, but there are still areas we have not yet targeted to their full potential,” Ogiermann said on the opening day of the Air Cargo China 2016 exhibition in Shanghai.

“In 2017, we will target areas such as Transpacific, Australia and South America—do not be surprised if you see us becoming a strong player in all these markets in the next nine months.” That expansion also includes the opening of a new European cargo hub in Luxembourg, he added.

How Iron Maiden Made the Boeing 747 Badass Again

Clebrity endorsements are a cornerstone of advertising nowadays, but an industrial manufacturing giant like Boeing seldom gets the chance to play that game. What celebrity is going to tout stuff like cargo hold capacity and cruising range?

Well, Boeing’s chance came several weeks ago, when one of its 747-400 jumbo jets touched down at the company’s manufacturing plant in Everett, Wash., with Captain Bruce Dickinson at the controls.

Dickinson is better known as the frontman for Iron Maiden, the British heavy-metal band that’s sold over 90 million records in a career spanning four decades.

The 57-year-old Dickinson’s talent for soaring applies to more than his voice: Since the 1990s, he’s also held a commercial pilot’s license. Iron Maiden is currently in the middle of a six-continent, 35-city tour in a chartered 747. And Dickinson is doing all the flying.

When Iron Maiden announced they were using a 747 for their world tour, we knew we wanted to work with them to ‘bring the plane home’—to Boeing, where it was built,” Boeing spokesperson Mary K. Kelly told Adweek.

Fortunately, the band was actually in the neighborhood, leaving a date at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena and heading for a show at the Tacoma Dome. After the jet (dubbed “Ed Force One,” a dual riff on Air Force One, the presidential plane, and Eddie, the band’s skeletal mascot) pulled in, Dickinson took a tour of Boeing’s 472 million-square-foot factory. He also met some of the 3,000 employees who turned out for the occasion.

Competition authorities investigating Emirates

THE Competition Commission has confirmed that it is investigating Emirates Airline for abuse of dominance under the Competition Act, after claims that it offered incentives to travel agents to divert sales from competitors.

The airline industry is particularly cut-throat and operates on low margins, giving dominant players much advantage.



Section 8 of the Competition Act prohibits a dominant firm from “inducing” a customer to not deal with a competitor, or to engage in any other conduct that impedes or prevents its competitors from entering into or expanding within a market.

Emirates, which is the world’s largest airline and operates a fleet of at least 251 aircraft, confirmed on Friday that it was the subject of a probe. The investigation centres on allegations that between 2010 and 2014 Emirates offered travel agents incentives to lock out competitors.

Emirates Southern African manager Fouad Caunh ye said the airline had not been informed who laid the complaint. This information would become available only should the matter progress to the Competition Tribunal, Caunh ye said.

Itumeleng Lesofe, the spokesman for the Competition Commission, said the investigation had been running since April 2015.

“Unfortunately, I am unable to tell when the investigation will be completed, but substantial work has been done,” Lesofe said.

This is not the first airline abuse of dominance case of this sort to be brought before the commission.