Mushrooming Gulf Airlines
Can any of you old hands in the Gulf read the tea leaves on the future of the airlines in the ME region. Some questions:
1.With all the new ones mushrooming, is there long term traffic for all?
2. With Abu Dhabi and Oman pumping more money into their own carriers, will Gulf Air suffer? Has there been a loss of crews to these new guys, and how have Gulf Air's expansion plans been affected?
3. What's the future of TransGulf, Air Arabia and of the low-cost model?
4. Are the Emirs commercially savvy in their desire to have their own airlines, or does nationalistic fervour trump good business?
5. Are pilot pay scales likely to go up with this increasing competition for crews, or are there long waiting lists of expats still waiting in the wings?
....etc....etc...etc...