Emirates weighs up cheaper flights to see off low-cost competitors
Emirates, noted for luxury planes with showers and bars, is considering cheaper long-distance flights to fend off aggressive competition from low-cost carriers. "More and more international network carriers will be starting to move into the long-haul, low-cost market," Emirates president Tim Clark told reporters in Berlin. "That will be the shape of things to come." Traditional airlines such as Deutsche Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are trying to expand their low-cost offerings as discount carriers including Norwegian Air Shuttle and Singapore’s Scoot push into the sector’s most lucrative segment. The rivalry is burdening network carriers like Emirates as terrorism, Middle East economic slowdown and the UK’s EU exit weigh on travel and reducing fares. Emirates, which has exploited its Persian Gulf location to turn its Dubai hub into an intercontinental crossroads, has had a particularly rough year. Low energy prices have sapped demand for lucrative premium bookings from executives in...
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