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A price war has erupted this week as competing airlines attempt to woo passengers travelling from Bahrain to Kuwait, writes Stan Szecowka and Anasuya Kesavan.
The battle of the skies started when the privately-owned Bahrain Air, which calls itself the kingdom’s ‘second national carrier’, announced it was resuming flights to the neighbouring Gulf state from January 26.
Gulf Air responded by reducing its fare on the day, rivals Kuwait Air joined in too and ticket prices have continued to tumble ever since.
A week ago it would have cost a passenger BD148 for a return Gulf Air flight to the destination and this week it was down to BD78. Kuwait pitched in with BD58.300 and Bahrain Air showed it meant business with a mere BD54 offering including taxes and service charge.
Richard Nuttall, CEO of Bahrain Air, said: “We are delighted to be returning to Kuwait. It is an important destination in its own right and at the same time will also support our network beyond Bahrain with convenient connections especially to the Indian subcontinent and Khartoum. Further we will be adding non-stop flights between Kuwait and Beirut strengthening our presence and product in both markets.”
The company will operate four flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Flights will depart from Bahrain in the morning at 8.35am and return in the evening from Kuwait at 6.55pm. These times are designed to provide convenience to passengers wishing to maximise their time in Kuwait or for business traffic requiring to return the same day. Bahrain Air’s flights will continue onwards from Kuwait to Beirut and from Beirut to Kuwait.
Industry analysts are not sure if the price war will be sustainable long-term for the competing companies and wonder whether a working arrangement over routes may come into effect in the not-to-distant future, particularly between the two Bahrain-based airlines.
Neelam Mathews, an aviation consultant and freelance writer for several international aerospace publications, said: “The situation in Bahrain is in a way, a smaller mirror of what is happening in India as far as the battle for business goes. The reasons may be different, but when airlines with heavy debts compete in a recessionary environment, with heavily-taxed Aviation Turbine Fuel, they are bound to suffer further.
“Where does this price war lead to? Only the toughest with a handle on costs, balanced with good service and safety standards, will survive and the weakest will either consolidate, merge or die.
“Monopolies are never good for the customer. Bahrain Air and Gulf Air will probably need at some point to get their act together. However, one is not sure how much the government will keep out of this.”
But, in the meantime, the two appear to be at each other’s throats at a time when both have been hit by the decision to stop profitable flights to Iran and Iraq as a result of ‘concern for regional security’.
Gulf Air has also come under renewed criticism from some MPs after receiving a BD400 million aid package and requesting a further BD200 million to meet pending costs, despite it being acknowledged that instability in Bahrain and in the region had hit its recovery plan to break even by 2013.
The airline is an official supporter of this week’s Bahrain Airshow … and its smaller rival will be displaying its talents on the same stage.
Bahrain Air, now operates as a hybrid airline and says it has grown to be ‘a force to be reckoned with’ in the region and has customised its service to market requirements by now operating Business/Premium Class and Economy class services on its route network. Managing director Capt. Ibrahim Al Hamer said: “We are glad to participate for the second time in the Bahrain International Air Show; this gives the Bahrain aviation industry a great boost in exposure in both the region and the globe.
“Bahrain Air today operates to 18 destinations and plays a major role in linking Bahrain, the financial centre of the Middle East, to major cities in the GCC, Levant, Africa, the Indian Sub-continent and Europe through Istanbul, with a fleet of modern Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft.”
Although Gulf Air declined to comment, it states that one of its prime objectives is to connect Bahrain to the Middle East countries and the rest of the world.
