Do the glittering charms of the Gulf leave you cold? Do you look at all those
gold-plated hotels, duty-free shopping malls and artificial islands visible
from space and feel just a little ... jaded? Perhaps you prefer your holiday
destinations to have a bit more soul. You want somewhere that oozes natural
beauty and local colour, such as Thailand, India or Sri Lanka.
Fair enough, but here’s the interesting bit: if you are planning to jet off to
Bangkok, Delhi or Sydney, you might get a better deal by travelling via the
Gulf. This is because the oil-rich sheikhs who run this part of the world
are so keen to kick-start their own tourist industries that they are pumping
billions of pounds into gleaming new airlines.
In order to put bums on seats, these fledgling carriers are offering
lip-smackingly low fares on some of the newest, most modern, most
comfortable aircraft in the world. To take advantage of these deals, you
don’t actually need to visit the Gulf. You just need to spend a couple of
hours in Abu Dhabi or Qatar en route to your final destination.
Flying on a new, modern aircraft is almost as good as a free upgrade. Some
airlines operate aircraft that are 30 years old. They may be safe, but older
aircraft tend to be noisy and often have worn, thin seats and third-rate
entertainment systems. New aircraft are less likely to develop faults,
keeping delays to a minimum. The downside? Switching planes in the Gulf adds
an average of about three hours to the total journey time — think of it as a
chance to do some duty-free shopping and stretch your legs.
Not convinced yet? Then take a look at a few fares. Let’s say you fancy a
winter break chasing elephants and gazing at temples in Sri Lanka. Go to a
flight consolidator such as Opodo (0871 277 0091, www.opodo.co.uk) and a
return ticket in November with SriLankan Airlines will set you back £553.
But look more closely and you’ll see that Opodo also has flights on the same
dates for just £427 with an airline called Etihad. Upgrade to business class
and the price difference is even more pronounced: £1,712 on SriLankan
Airlines compared with £992 on Etihad.
Never heard of Etihad? You will — it’s one of the fastest- growing airlines in
the world. Launched by the government of Abu Dhabi less than two years ago,
it plans to increase its current fleet of six aircraft to 50 within just
four years. Last year, it announced orders for new aircraft worth a total of
£4.5 billion, including four Airbus A380 “superjumbos”, the world’s largest
passenger plane. And in October it will take delivery of the first of a
fleet of the new Boeing 777-300s.
Another Gulf-based carrier with ambitious expansion plans is Qatar Airways. In
June this year it announced plans to buy 60 new Airbus A350 jets and 20
Boeing 777s costing a total of £8.5 billion. Every seat will be fitted with
the latest individual LCD screen offering video and audio on demand. Later
this year, the airline will introduce the world’s first live onboard
satellite television.
Qatar, which will also buy at least two A380 superjumbos, already flies to 65
destinations, including the Seychelles, the Maldives, Singapore, Bangkok and
Cape Town, with daily flights out of Heathrow and Gatwick. To cope with its
expansion plans, a new £3 billion airport is being built in the Qatari
capital, Doha. It will be able to handle 50m passengers a year by 2015.
Gatwick, by comparison, currently handles 32m a year.
Qatar’s fares are enticing. Let’s suppose you want to tour the forts and
temples of Rajasthan in November. If so, Opodo will be happy to sell you a
return ticket to Delhi on Air India for £565. British Airways is cheaper at
£508, but even that can’t beat Qatar at £400.
How about a fortnight twiddling your toes in the sandy beaches of southern
Thailand? According to Ebookers (0870 010 7000, www.ebookers.com), if you
fly from London to Bangkok in early November, you’ll pay £693 on Thai
Airways and £574 on Air France. The lowest fare? Qatar at £444.
Cheap doesn’t mean nasty, though. Qatar Airways is one of only four airlines
in the world awarded a five-star rating by Skytrax (www.airlinequality.com),
the independent aviation-monitoring agency (the others are Cathay Pacific,
Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines). In economy class, both Qatar and
Etihad offer 32in of seat pitch, compared to 31in on BA and Virgin Atlantic.
Are these fares being subsidised by the oil-rich sheikhs in order to undercut
rivals such as British Airways? Apparently not. Etihad says that such a
practice would risk upsetting EU regulators. However, there is nothing to
stop the billionaires chipping in a few quid for new planes — and, of
course, new aircraft are not only more comfortable, they also burn less
fuel.
By attempting to spend their way to greatness, Qatar and Etihad are following
a path carved out by another Gulf-based airline, Emirates, which is owned by
the ruling family of Dubai. When Emirates was launched in 1985, Dubai was a
drab city visited mostly by diplomats, oil workers and engineers. ()
Since then, huge investment in both the airline and Dubai’s tourist
infrastructure has turned it into the fastest growing destination on earth,
pulling in 5m visitors a year. Emirates, in turn, has doubled in size every
four years and now regularly picks up awards for its in-flight service and
entertainment.
The governments of Qatar and Abu Dhabi are clearly hoping to bring about a
similar transformation to their own territories. Qatar is building an
artificial island similar in design to the Palm in Dubai, and the rulers of
Abu Dhabi have splashed out a reported £2 billion on a hotel, the Emirates
Palace, said to be the most expensive in the world.
Works of genius or white elephants? Frankly, who cares. What matters is that
the low fares and high standards of service being offered by these
countries’ airlines are simply too good to miss.
What the Gulf state airlines offer
ETIHAD
Launched two years ago, owned by the ruling sheikhs of Abu Dhabi.
Flies from: Heathrow and Gatwick daily.
To: Colombo, Mumbai, Muscat, Bangkok and Delhi, all via Abu Dhabi. It
plans to increase its 17 destinations to 60 by 2010.
Seats: 32in pitch, with seatback movie screens in all cabins.
Best fares: £250 to Abu Dhabi or Dubai with Ebookers (0870 010 7000,
www.ebookers.com); £427 to Colombo with Opodo (0871 277 0091,
www.opodo.co.uk).
Other goodies: free coach transfers from Abu Dhabi airport into town or
to Dubai (about 90 minutes).
Contact: 0870 241 7121, www.etihadairways.com.
QATAR AIRWAYS
Launched 12 years ago by the Qatari royal family.
Flies from: Heathrow twice daily, Gatwick daily and Machester four
times a week.
To: 65 destinations including the Seychelles, the Maldives, Cape Town,
Singapore, Bangkok, Yangon, Cochin, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and
Shanghai. All go via Doha. More will be added.
Seats: 32in pitch, The bulk of the fleet — Airbus A330s — have seatback
screens with video on demand in all classes.
Best fares: Bangkok for £444 with Ebookers (0870 010 7000,
www.ebookers.com); the Maldives for £550 with Opodo.
Other goodies: live satellite television coming later this year to the
A330s.
Contact: 020 7896 3636, www.qatarairways.com.
EMIRATES
Owned by the government of Dubai, Emirates started in 1985 with two aircraft.
It now has a fleet of 77 aircraft.
Flies from: Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
To: Dubai, 12 times daily, and onwards to 70 destinations, including
Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. A new route is the Seychelles, with Beijing
added from next February.
Seats: 32in-33in pitch. Seatback screens in all cabins.
Best fares: the Maldives for £584 in February with Opodo.
Other goodies: chauffeur pick-ups — but only for premium passengers.
Contact: 0870 243 2222, www.emirates.com/uk.
... and GULF AIR
Founded in 1950, Gulf Air is jointly owned by the governments of Bahrain, Abu
Dhabi and Oman. After years of declining sales, it is again investing big.
Flies from: Heathrow.
To: Bahrain (twice daily) with onward connections to 40
destinations. Plus nonstop from Heathrow to Muscat, in Oman. Due to launch
nonstop flights from Dublin to Bahrain from 2 December.
Seats: 32in-34in pitch, screens in every seat.
Best fares: £293 to Muscat with Ebookers.
Other goodies: the world’s first Sky Nannies, trained at Norland
College and on every flight into and out of London.
Contact: 0870 777 1717, www.gulfairco.com/uk.
