Gulf airline 2015 expansion: Italy growth highlights competition between Etihad, Emirates and Qatar

Competitors sometime assume the three Gulf network airlines - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways - have a coordinated strategy. The reality is they are fierce competitors with individual motivations and nuances. The Italian market is a strong indicator of this: Etihad's acquisition of Alitalia gave it a significant boost in the market. Emirates, the largest, is looking to maintain its lead while Qatar Airways, once comfortably second largest, is being overshadowed.

Italy is the sixth largest growth market for the three Gulf airlines in 2H2015. Gulf carriers will have about 1,035 extra seats to Italy compared to 2,352 to the US (the largest growth market) 1,954 to the UK (second largest) and 1,903 to India (third largest). In percentage terms, Gulf carriers growth of 24% in Italy is outpaced only by the 28% growth in the US. Among other developments, Emirates is launching the first Gulf link to Bologna, bringing to four the number of Italian cities linked to Gulf hubs. But this expansion to Bologna comes as Emirates shifts capacity from Rome. Etihad and Alitalia are paring back growth plans from what they expected at the start of 2015, while Qatar Airways is planning faster growth.