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The 2005 update includes the region's Top 20 Airlines and 26 Airports in terms of passenger traffic across the MENA region.
In 2005, total passenger traffic for the top 20 MENA Airlines increased by 7% compared to the previous year - from 76 million passengers in 2004 to over 81 million passengers. This growth (5 million passengers) can be mainly attributed to 5 airlines: Qatar Airways (2.33 million), Emirates Airlines (1.97 million), Lebanon's MEA (1.26 million), Saudi Arabian Airlines (1.13 million) and Etihad Airways (1 million). Gulf Air suffered the worst decline in passenger traffic, losing some 1.34 million passengers. It also seems that Gulf Air even went into the red again since it still has not disclosed its financials. Excluding Etihad Airways, which started operations in late 2004, low-cost carrier Air Arabia saw the highest growth in passenger traffic, recording a 122% increase which suggests that passengers have embraced the no-frills air transport. Qatar Airways was second with a remarkable 67% growth. All 20 airlines operated some 655 planes (up from 616 in 2004) and employed about 135,000 people. Saudi Arabian Airlines and Emirates both kept the top spots in terms of fleet size, however EgyptAir was the highest employer with some 24,000 people.
In 2005, Boeing surpassed Airbus’s lead for the amount of planes ordered by MENA airlines. In 2004, Airbus recorded a total order of 39 planes while Boeing had only 10 planes on order in the region. This year, Boeing had 52 orders and Airbus a mere 24 planes from MENA airlines. Boeing's success in the region in 2005 is mainly due to high orders for its 777 jet. This brings the region's total to 401 Airbus planes ordered in the region compared to 279 Boeing planes. It is important to note that in 2005 Brazilian airline manufacturer Embraer entered the MENA market for the first time when Saudi Arabian Airlines ordered 15 of its Embrear 170 regional passenger jets. In the following tables, price differences between traditional and low-cost carriers are analyzed. In some cases, the price difference can reach up to four times the traditional carrier's airline ticket cost, explaining the high success of no-frills airlines. Currently, there are three low-cost carriers in the region, namely Air Arabia, Atlas Blue and Al Jazeera. However, more such airlines will be appearing as regional air traffic increases. Saudi Arabia-based Sama Airlines will become the latest low-cost airline in the region.
Emirates Airlines achieved the highest revenues with US$6.3 billion followed by Saudi Arabian Airlines with US$4 billion in revenues. The remaining airlines' revenues ranged from US$1.15 billion (Qatar Airways) and a humble US$28 million (Tunisia's Nouvelair).
It is self explanatory that Emirates Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Qatar Airways had by far the highest revenue per kilometer (RPK) figures with 62,260, 27,455, and 17,891, respectively. The same airlines also appear on the top 5 list in terms of Available Seat Kilometer (ASK). Revenue Passenger Kilometre is the measure of passenger traffic (number of paying passengers X kilometers flown). Available Seat Kilometre is the measure of passenger capacity (number of seats X kilometres flown).
Some 148 million passengers flew threw the top 26 international airports in the MENA, up 9% from last year's 136 million passengers. Dubai International Airport maintained its number one ranking in terms of passenger traffic with 24.78 million passengers. King Abdulaziz Intl. Airport also kept its second spot with 15.36 million passengers using Jeddah's airport. The Top 5 airports received over 70 million passengers alone, or 48% of the region's total. Aeroport Marrakech Menara recorded the region’s highest increase in passenger traffic with a 32% year-on-year growth to 2.21 million passengers. Doha International Airport recorded the second highest growth with 25% to 9.37 million, while Aswan International Airport registered the largest decrease with 12% to a little over 1 million passengers.
Currently, a vast amount of money is being spent on the construction and expansion of airports in the MENA region. In 2005 alone, an extra 10 million passengers in capacity were added, increasing the total capacity of the top 26 airports to 175 million. Capacity growth is expected to accelerate in the next few years with a number of mega-airport expansion and construction projects coming online. Zawya research estimated that 270 million in additional capacity will be added for the top 5 major airport projects alone - 3 of which are located in the UAE, one in Qatar and one in Bahrain. All 5 of these projects will cost over US$20 billion.
Dubai International Airport continues to be by far the number one MENA airport. Besides having the biggest passenger capacity and handling the largest passenger traffic, it saw 217,165 plane movements and handled 1,333 billion tons of cargo in 2005. It is worth noting, however, that Qatar is doing a great job and emerging as a major transport hub, same as for its neighboring Dubai. Not only that Qatar has planned a New Doha International Airport capable of handling 50 million passengers a year, but it has also achieved high rankings in 2005. In its 2005-2009 forecast of growth for international traffic, International Air Transport Association (IATA) places Qatar the forth worldwide with an annual average growth rate of 9.5% for its international traffic. Qatar national carrier was ranked as the one and only 5 stars airlines in the MENA region by Skytrax for the year 2005. The company fell third in terms of revenues,RPK and ASK and achieved the highest growth rate in terms of passenger traffic over the year 2005*.
In terms of quality of service, the MENA region's aviation sector continues as an average to score poorly, except for a few exceptions for airlines and airports in the Gulf. According to Skytrax, a London-based airline and airport passenger research firm, Qatar Airways maintained its 5-star ranking and by doing so, it's the only 5-star airline in the MENA region. The 5-star ranking means that the airline is offering an excellent premium product and service. Only Emirates Airlines and Gulf Air received a 4-star ranking in 2005, while Saudi Arabian Airlines joined other 9 MENA airline companies in receiving a 3-stars ranking.
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