Emirates attributes ability to react swiftly to survival

Emirates Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations Richard Vaughan stated the carrier's ability to react swiftly has allowed it to survive the unpredictable aviation environment (Sydney Morning Herald, 01-Nov-2010). Mr Vaughan stated this is why the airline is not part of an airline alliance, instead preferring to do things its own way. He stated alliances slow a carrier's ability to quickly react to changes in market conditions, result in higher fares and can confuse passengers as to which airline they will actually be flying with. However, it does have codeshare agreements with a number of international airlines, including Continental Airlines and Thai Airways. Mr Vaughan added Emirates does not pay too much attention to competitor's moves, as they are distracting. He also attributed the carrier's survival during the global financial downturn, despite not discounting fares like other airlines, to maintaining its Premium services. It has no plans to unbundle services, with the Vice President stating LCC passengers today will be theirs in the future.

Emirates: "If you buy an alliance ticket, there's no guarantee that you'll be flying on the airline of the ticket you purchased. We don't get overly concerned about competitors. It's not a lack of respect - it's just that if you spend a lot of time looking at competitors, you take your eye off your own game. You could've said, 'We'll get rid of some bits of inflight catering, the chauffeur-drive on the ground' - but then you destroy the product. Today's low-cost passengers are ours tomorrow. They progress upwards. As you become more mature and earn more money, you look for a bit more comfort in everything you do in life," Richard Vaughan, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations. Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 01-Nov-2010.