Emirates' expansion: Dubai buy-up | The Economist

IN JUNE The Economist wrote a long piece about the growing success of aviation in the Gulf. And later in the month, Emirates confirmed that its appetite for expansion was indeed far from sated, with a remarkable new order for 32 of Airbus's massive A380s, on top of the 48 it already has on order and the ten it has in operation. In reaction to all that, this piece in Air Transport World looks at how European airlines are countering the Dubai-based carrier’s aggressive strategy. In particular I would draw your attention to a quote from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a market analyst, about Emirates’ new A380 order. It is, apparently,

enough to make irreversible the airline industry's transformation from a heavily regulated, nationalistic anachronism to something approaching a real business. No longer can traditional competitors hope to stave off this threat to the status quo, as they have been hoping in recent years while the airline expanded threateningly. This order marks a genuine turning point in that process of change. It is so large in fact that competitors' business plans will be reshaped by it.

That could turn out to be correct, although we don't hear sounds of panic from America quite yet. But Emirates has clearly upped the ante for the industry's big players: airlines of the world, prepare your responses.