Emirates, Etihad & Qatar continue to pursue rapid expansion in Southeast Asia-Western Europe market

This is the third part of a three-part series of reports on the Southeast Asia-Western Europe market. The first part analysed the position of Southeast Asian carriers as Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Garuda Indonesia prepare to join four peers in operating non-stop flights to Europe. The second part analysed the position of European carriers and the impact of Norwegian's entrance. This part looks at the Gulf carriers, which continue to rapidly expand in Southeast Asia and pursue a larger chunk of the Southeast Asia-Europe market.

Over the last two years the three major Gulf carriers have expanded their operations in Southeast Asia by more than 50%. Assuming at least one third of their Southeast Asian passengers are heading or originating in Western Europe, Gulf carriers now carry more passengers between the two regions than their European competitors.