Gulf carriers expect to lose premium business after US device ban

Regional carriers are expected to lose significant business following the US decision to ban large electronic devices in cabin luggage.
The move is expected to hit premium class travellers hard as well as leisure tourists to the US from the Arabian Gulf, say analysts.
Gulf carriers had been expanding aggressively to the US destinations during the past few years. Emirates flies to 12 cities, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and New York, while Etihad flies to six.
The ban will affect about 350 scheduled flights a week, equivalent to about 2 per cent of total international flights to the US, an Iata spokeswoman told The National.
Tim Clark, the president of Emirates airline, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he only learnt of the new US guidelines the day earlier.
Mr Clark says the government-backed carrier is now scrambling to ensure that by Friday evening it is in compliance with the new rules and is working on ways to let passengers keep their devices up until boarding before securing them in cargo holds.
"We have got a negative response from travellers regarding the ban and it is definitely going to impact corporate travel to the US from the region as few people would be willing to put their gadgets in the luggage," said a spokeswoman for Dubai-based Akbar Travels. "For leisure travellers also, few would put their expensive cameras in the luggage, which might get lost or robbed."
For corporate travellers for whom laptops and other devices are work tools and often contain confidential information, the ban is expected to be especially tough.
"I expect the Gulf carriers to suffer significant traffic loss over this ban as the majority of their traffic rights are non-stops," said Geoffrey Thomas, an analyst with Airlineratings.com. "It would take time and permission before new services could be developed through other destinations."
The US device ban applies to direct flights from Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco and the UAE. The directive is effective from March 25 until October 14.
The widespread effect of the ban is expected to get more pronounced as passengers look to retain their devices on board.
"This could mean a number of passengers looking at alternative routings outside of the Middle East, or even possibly not travelling," said Peter Morris, the chief economist at London-based consultancy Ascend Worldwide. "It clearly will cause some loss or diversion of passengers for airlines serving the listed airports to the destination countries."
There could also be a rise of other hubs outside these countries and the UK, which also implements the device ban. "One possibility could be flights via Shannon in Ireland," Mr Thomas said.
The number of trips into the US from the UAE has increased over the years. The US recorded 116,700 trips from the UAE in 2016, a figure that is expected to rise to 120,400 trips this year, a slower growth of 3 per cent compared to 4 per cent in 2016 due to the travel uncertainties, according to research company Euromonitor International. This includes trips from corporate as well as leisure travellers to the US.
The Gulf carriers have invested heavily in premium class cabins recently.
Emirates and Qatar Airways declined to comment beyond statements issued on Tuesday. Etihad did not respond to emailed questions.

Source: The National