Emirates Squeezes Profits From a Two-Hour Flight to Riyadh - Bloomberg

Emirates Squeezes Profits From a Two-Hour Flight to Riyadh - Bloomberg:

Over 35 years, Emirates has built itself into the world’s largest airline, its Airbus double-deckers and Boeing 777s raining down on Dubai around the clock from every corner of the world and helping turn the desert outpost into a vibrant metropolis. But one of its most profitable routes is a two-hour hop to neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Each Sunday morning, the departure hall in Concourse B at Dubai International Airport comes alive with the buzz of business travelers kitted out with dark suits, compact suitcases, and white wireless earbuds. Long lines form at the start of every week for EK 819, the most popular of four daily Emirates flights that pack in a total of about 1,600 seats. The destination is Riyadh, and the cargo is business consultants who live in Dubai on weekends but work for the Saudi government during the week in sectors ranging from education to transport to energy.

First- and business-class seats sell out months in advance. A round-trip economy ticket shoots up to 4,000 dirhams ($1,089) on average during the narrow commuting window and exceeds 5,000 for a last-minute booking, making it costlier than a round-trip ticket to London. The fare then falls to 1,500 dirhams after the morning rush and into the week. Come Thursday night, Dubai beckons, and the procession of passengers winds its way back to the city, with the price skyrocketing again.