Dubai – Decypha: The fierce competition between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to become the most attractive business and entertainment destination in the UAE has been spilling over to their respective, government-owned, airline carriers. Emirates is Dubai's national carrier and the biggest airline company in MENA. It currently ranks as the fourth best airline in the world, according to Skytrax, a global rating agency. Etihad is the UAE's national carrier, based in UAE's capital emirate Abu Dhabi. It is the second largest airline carrier in MENA, and was founded in 2003 to end Emirates 18-year reign as the national carrier. Etihad currently ranks eighth best airline in the world.
Coverage
Emirates has the bigger fleet at 259 aircrafts. It has 94 Airbus A380-800 aircrafts, 150 Boeing 777 aircrafts (131 Boeing 777-300ER, 10 Boeing 777-200LR and nine Boeing 777-300) and 15 Boeing cargo planes. This makes Emirates the biggest Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 operator in the world, according to the company. It has 219 planes on order including 48 Airbus A380-800, 21 Boeing 777-300 ER and 150 Boeing 777-8X/9X, which can increase by another 50 planes if Emirates desires.
Etihad has 121 planes. Its 80-plane Airbus fleet is more diverse than the Emirates fleet. The Abu Dhabi-based airline has 35 planes from the Airbus A320 family, 24 from the Airbus A330 family and nine from the A380 family. The A320 and A330 carry fewer passengers than the A380. Etihad's fleet also comprises 41 Boeing planes. Of which, 12 are from the fuel efficient Boeing 787 family and 24 are from the Boeing 777 family. Etihad have 175 planes under order until 2025, according to the airline Facts and Figures document published in April 2017. They include 62 Airbus A350 planes, 26 upgraded versions of the A320 family and one A380 in addition to 59 Boeing 787 and 25 Boeing 777.
Accordingly, Etihad is more efficient than Emirates due to the former's more balanced fleet. Etihad reported a 79% seat factor in 2016 versus 75.1% for Emirates in fiscal 2016/2017, according to figures from both companies. On the other hand, Emirates are more efficient when flying to popular destinations, requiring fewer trips with their bigger planes. Its fewer model variety also means higher economies of scale, easily managing their maintenance facilities and personnel training.
Emirates has a clear upper hand over Etihad when it comes to the number of destinations, flying to 156 destinations in 83 countries in all six continents. Emirates flies the second-longest non-stop trip in the world from Dubai to Auckland, in New Zealand. Meanwhile Etihad flies to 110 destinations in five continents after stopping its Sao Paulo flights in March 2017.
Etihad has seen 18.5 million passengers board its planes in 2016, according to company figures. In 2016, the company generated around $8.35 billion in revenue, compared to $9 billion in 2015. Emirates completely trumped its Abu-Dhabi competitor, carrying just over 56 million passengers and generated nearly $22.8 billion in revenue during fiscal 2016/2017 compared to $22.73 billion last fiscal year.
Quality of travel
Etihad has two classes above first class, while Emirates offers one. On the former, the top tier class is called The Residence Class. It is only available on its Airbus A380-800 aircrafts. The Residence Class is a 11.6 square meter fully enclosed cabin that can accommodate up to two travelers. It has a living room, bedroom and bathroom with a shower. There is also a 154 cm two-seater reclining sofa and two TV monitors (32-inch in lounge and 27-inch in bedroom). The bed is 121 cm-wide and 210 cm-long. Other features include a fully-stacked chilled mini-bar and vanity cabinet.
Emirates offers a similar class, but only on its Airbus A380-800 planes that were delivered after 2009, according to the company. Emirates' class out-does Etihad’s Residence Class by having two shower compartments in its bathrooms and a private spa. There is also an exclusive seating area for the class passengers to mingle. This area has a private bar and a 55-inch screen. No other details were disclosed.
The other class above first class in Etihad is the 3.6 square-meter First Apartment, which are also exclusive to the Airbus A380-800 planes. They only suite one person, comprising a 77 cm-wide reclining chair that can be converted to a bed. There is also a 24-inch TV screen that can be viewed when laying down. Emirates hinted at creating a new class to match, saying to press that it will have a new first class on its Airbus A380-800 and Boeing 777-300ER by the end of 2017.
First class on Etihad is called First Suite. It features only on the Boeing 787 family of aircrafts. It is an enclosed space with sliding doors that has a 66 cm-wide chair, which can be converted to a 204 cm-long bed, a dining table, a fixed 24-inch TV screen and a personal wardrobe. This class is comparable to Emirate’s higher tier first class, which also comes with sliding doors. That seat can lay flat to make a 200 cm-long bed. The TV has a 23-inch screen. Other amenities include a mini-bar, coat rack and storage. This class is available on Emirates Airbus fleet and the Boeing 777-200LR aircrafts. The lower tier first class on Emirates, called Skycruiser, features only on the Boeing 777-300 planes. It doesn’t have sliding doors, comes with a smaller 19-inch TV screen and has a mini-bar. Seats recline to make two m-long beds.
Emirates Business Class also comes in two versions. The first is on all Boeing planes, and comes with seats that can recline to make two meter-long beds. The seats are also massage-equipped, partitioned, have winged head-rests, in-seat power supply, six-way movement and 17-inch TV screen. On the Airbus the seats come with a mini-bar. However, some of them convert to shorter beds (1.8 meter long instead of two meters). Business class travelers also have access to their own exclusive bar at the tail of the plane.
Etihad only offers business class on its Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 models. The main difference is that the TV is bigger at 18 inches. However, the seats are not as sophisticated as Emirates nor do business class passengers have access to an exclusive bar.
In Etihad, Economy Class offers 3 cm more recline range and winged headrests while Emirates has a range of power-outlets for laptops and mobiles. Both have entertainment screens for each seat.
Qualitatively, Emirates has outranked Etihad for the past five years at the Airline of the Year Awards organized by Skytrax. In the 2012 ranking, Etihad was 6th while Emirates was ranked 8th best airline in the world. Since then Emirates ranked first in 2013 and 2016, and never dropped below 5th. Etihad on the other hand has been unable to break into the top five. Its best performance was 6th in 2015 and 2016. Its worst rank was 9th in 2014. Since inception, Etihad won 30 Skytrax awards in specific categories such as Best Business Class in 2009 and Best First Class Catering and Best First Class Seat in 2010. Emirates has won the Skytrax award for best in-flight entertainment since 2003. Interestingly, only Etihad is classified by Skytrax as a 5-star airline.
Cost of Travel
Price wise, Emirates seems to be cheaper than Etihad. The gap ranges from as little as 0.63% in favor of Emirates on the two-way flight to London to 18.9% on the two-way flight to Hong Kong. The only exception is the flight to Melbourne in Australia, where Etihad was over 25% cheaper than Emirates. This is based on two-way flights booked for November 15th with a return ticket on November 22nd on the Expedia website. The cities surveyed were London and Portugal in Europe; South Africa and Morocco in Africa; New York in USA; Hong Kong and Japan in Asia; and Australia.
In terms of frequent flier miles, Emirates has a more comprehensive program. It was launched in 2000, and had over 16 million members as of 2016. Passengers are automatically added once they book any flight. The program is comprised of two components. The first is Skywards Miles where passengers can accumulate or redeem points whenever they deal with Emirates or one of its partners. The second part is Tier Miles, which determines the member’s status (Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum), and therefore their entitlement to discounts on purchases and services.
By the end of 2016, the loyalty program was shared with 15 other national and private airlines. Skywards Miles can be used at Starwood Hotels where points can be spent or accumulated by staying at one of the hotel's brands around the world. Points can also be accumulated or reimbursed when buying from select Dubai Duty Free Shop.
Etihad has a wider network of partners; 32 other airlines; whose travel miles can be converted to Etihad’s frequent flier program account. However, passengers must register to be part of the program. Uniquely Etihad has permanent deals with 20 telecom companies, banks and hotel chains whose points can be converted to Etihad’s loyalty program, but not vice versa. The airline also offers time-limited deals related to its loyalty program. Members can use a credit card to buy points to boost their status.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline's frequent flyer program allows passengers to wait in the first class lounge at certain airports and get discounts on plane tickets as well as purchases from Etihad's online Reward Shop. Also, upon being a member of program, passengers are entitled to an Etihad Guest American Express® Credit Card, and an Etihad Guest Visa Credit Card which work on one account. Points from purchases are converted to Etihad’s frequent flier program.
Easy travel
Etihad has created its own airline alliance with seven other airlines, called Etihad Airways Partners. All alliance members, except Australia's low-cost airline Niki, are partially owned by Etihad. They include Etihad Regional (33.3% ownership stake), Air Berlin (29.2% ownership stake), Alitalia (49%), Jet Airways (24%), Air Seychelles (40%) and Air Serbia (49% ownership stake). And while Etihad has a near 21% ownership stake in Virgin Australia, the airline is not part of the alliance.
Emirates on the other hand has chosen to remain an independent airline. “Your ability to react to the marketplace is hindered because you need a consensus from your alliance partners,” said Richard Vaughan, then senior vice-president of Emirates' commercial operations worldwide, in 2010 during the 150th Melbourne Cup carnival as reported by The Sydney Herald at the time. To date, the only agreement Emirates has is with Australian airline Qantas, where the latter's trip between UK and Australia (aka the Kangaroo Route) must transit in Dubai International Airport instead of Singapore. The agreement will expire in 2022.
The closed nature of Emirates means that it only has 21 code-share agreements with other airlines mostly in Africa and Asia. Etihad on the other hand has 53 such agreements and 188 interline relationships, which expands Etihad’s reach to 600 destinations, according to the airline's annual report. These agreements and alliances make it easier for passengers to make multiple-stop journeys that require different airlines by making a single reservation with a member airline.
By Tamer Mahfouz
