The Australian aviation product and safety ranking agency AirlineRatings.com places the full-fledged carriers of the UAE Emirates and Etihad Airways to be part of the 20 best airlines in the industry worldwide.
Emirates is ranked fifth in a recent rating after its new premium economy class was rated best in the segment in the aviation sector. The airlines have recently picked up pace during the festival season. It has been successfully operating like the pre covid scenario with flights reaching 120 destinations. It plans for enormous fleet expansion that would make it the world’s largest airline. The carrier aims to surpass the pre-pandemic levels with 880 weekly flights. The firm plans to boost its operations by deploying the Airbus A380.
Etihad airline is rated 20th on the list, and the Abu Dhabi-based airline has added a new destination- ‘Vienna’ to its list recently, broadening its reach to 54 destinations. It debuts in testing the Eco Demonstrator program for disinfection of the flight deck within 15 minutes. The carrier is adopting innovative technologies offering environmental and health safety. In line with the Greenliner program, the airline committed to launching at least four Eco Flights with a 15% fuel reduction in flight. It is the first airline in the UAE to commit to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 by joining forces with Siemens Energy, Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, and Japan’s Marubeni Corp. to use synthetic fuel for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the market value for the global airline industry in 2020 was 686 billion U.S. dollars and is forecast to reach 776.86 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. By 2021, however, IATA estimates that global passenger traffic will reach 52 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels.
As per International Air Transport Association, the Middle East region’s air passenger traffic will rebound 43% in 2021 as the tourism and travel sector revives as the restrictions ease. There has been an increase in jet fuel demand due to the recovery in the travel industry. The S&P Global Platts Analytics estimates that jet fuel consumption in the Middle East region will rise by nearly 24 percent to 400,000 b/d in 2021. Yet, it is significantly less than the pre-pandemic levels, as people might still be concerned about safety.
