HONG KONG: Prices for flights between Asia and Europe are soaring following the closure of major Middle East hubs due to the US and Israel’s war against Iran, with airline websites showing tickets on many popular routes fully booked for several days.
Major hubs in the Gulf, including Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest, which typically sees more than 1,000 flights a day, remained closed for a fourth day on Tuesday, cutting capacity on popular routes such as Australia-Europe, where Emirates and Qatar Airways typically have high market shares.
Australia’s Flight Center Travel Group has seen a 75% increase in calls to its stores and emergency assistance line since the crisis began, with teams working around the clock to assist customers in the midst of disruption, global managing director Andrew Stark said.
“Australians have been extremely resilient and are already rebooking flights to the UK/Europe via alternative routes through China, Singapore and other Asian hubs, as well as North America via hubs such as Houston,” he said.
Airlines offering direct flights between Asia and Europe can avoid closed Middle East airspace by flying north through the Caucasus and then Afghanistan, or south through Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
But with rising oil prices, flight times and fuel usage will increase, potentially increasing costs and potentially leading to higher fares in the long run.
“The entire Middle East is now off-limits, making it expensive for some airlines,” said Subhash Menon, president of the Asia-Pacific Airlines Association.
“Airlines will be less profitable if they can only serve Europe at a higher cost. At the end of the day, the price you have to pay is connectivity.”
Alternative options
Alton Aviation Consultancy said airlines operating direct flights or via alternative hubs outside the affected regions, such as Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines, could benefit in the short term as passengers shift away from Gulf-based carriers.
A check by Reuters on multiple airline websites on Tuesday found that flights from Asia to London had few short-term bookings and were being offered at high prices.
According to Cathay Pacific’s website, there were no seats available in economy class on the Hong Kong-London route until March 11, when one-way tickets cost at least HK$21,158 ($2,705.28), dropping to the usual price of HK$5,054 later in the month.
Until March 17, Qantas will sell economy class tickets for flights from Sydney to London for A$3,129 ($2,220.03) one-way on regular flights via Perth and Singapore. For earlier dates, there are expensive options with non-traditional stopovers such as Los Angeles and Johannesburg.
Thailand’s Transport Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said Thai Airways’ flights to Europe are full as European tourists choose direct flights instead of connecting through the Middle East.
A search on the Thai Airways website for travel from Bangkok to London showed that tickets were sold out until late next week, and fares were expensive after that. Economy class tickets for one-way flights went on sale for 71,190 baht ($2,265) on March 15 and were reduced to 27,045 baht by March 18.
Taiwan’s EVA Air said it has seen a surge in bookings for flights to Europe as passengers from Asia and Europe seek alternative route options.
Mainland airlines’ websites say fares between China and the UK have also soared well above normal levels, with few economy class seats available on short-term departures.
A round-trip economy class ticket from Beijing to London typically costs less than 10,000 yuan ($1,452.71), but Air China’s only option on Wednesday was business class, with a one-way ticket priced at 50,490 yuan. (1 dollar = 7.8210 Hong Kong dollar) (1 dollar = 1.4094 Australian dollar) (1 dollar = 6.8805 Chinese Yuan)
(Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Josh Smith and Oratai Thrilling in Bangkok, Sophie Yu in Beijing and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Jamie Freed)
