Etihad Is Now Selling Seats For Half Price — Because Travelers Are Staying Away From The UAE

Enilria points out that Gulf airlines are dropping prices, even as other airlines around the world are raising fares and suggests that with the Straits of Hormuz closed they have excess oil while much of the world has too little.

For May and June on London-Sydney, Etihad is $910 roundtrip, while British Airways is selling at $2450. Closer to home, looking at Washington IAD to Johannesburg (JNB) United is $1895 rt in June, while Emirates is $1265. Newark (EWR) – Delhi (DEL) is $1595 nonstop on United with around $1200 on the Middle Eastern carriers with Lufthansa matching.

Etihad really does come up as the cheapest option on many of my searches. That’s not the same thing as all Gulf carriers are dumping capacity on all routes. Emirates and Qatar don’t seem to be as cheap.

But I don’t think this is a jet fuel story. In fact, the price of jet fuel appears to be higher in the Middle East than in Europe, North America and Latin America.

There is some fuel security that Etihad and others have that airlines around the world do not. Abu Dhabi airport is fed through a 1,000 mile pipeline network with integrated refinery -> pipeline -> terminal chain. That provides operational resilience.

The biggest reason they’re dropping price is that even with fewer seats from fewer flights right now, nobody wants to fly them. People have already fled or returned home since the beginning of regional conflict. Anyone that doesn’t have to travel to or through the U.A.E is avoiding it.

• The U.S. State Department currently has the UAE at Level 3, ‘reconsider travel’ because of armed-conflict risk, drone/missile threats, and commercial-flight disruptions.
• The U.K. advises against all but essential travel.

Etihad cut fares by up to 50% to fill planes through June. Emirates and Qatar did not.

It certainly was surprising to see Etihad launch its new Charlotte flight on March 20th. New long haul routes are usually going to lose money at the outset under the best of circumstances. And this one was surprising when it was announced a year ago, and looked likely to be marginal.

However it was a commitment Etihad made during President Trump’s visit to the U.A.E., it was effectively a state commitment, and backing out of commitments to the U.S. when seeking to influence U.S. policy towards Iran – while under attack from Iran – would have been the bigger surprise. It’s far cheaper to run the flight than risk the relationship, even if the flight itself seems fairly tangential.