European airlines reduce flights to Asia due to Gulf carrier’s fares

European airlines have reduced flights to Asia due to intense competition from Middle Eastern state-backed carriers, who encourage travelers to use their hub airports for lower tickets.

Since the epidemic, European airlines have reduced their flights to Asia in response to fierce competition from Middle Eastern state-backed carriers, who have persuaded travelers to use their hub airports in exchange for lower tickets. According to industry data source Cirium, airlines operated 22 million seats between Europe and Asia last year, a 26% decrease from 2019 and the fewest in at least 14 years, excluding the coronavirus epidemic. The sluggish rebuilding of many Asian economies after the coronavirus pandemic has made travel between Europe and Asia more difficult. Additionally, European airlines are not permitted to fly over Russian airspace, which means that flights to most of East Asia are longer.

However, the executives of Air France-KLM and Lufthansa claimed that their airlines had reduced the number of direct flights to numerous large Asian economies due to competition from Gulf carriers, who frequently provide lower tickets for travelers ready to make a connecting trip in the Middle East. European airlines bemoan the fact that their competitors in the Middle East are exempt from the gradually tighter EU environmental regulations on the second legs of flights to Asia that originate outside of Europe. One such regulation is the impending need to blend jet fuel with more costly but cleaner alternatives.