That rather provocative question was posed during the opening presentation at Embraer’s second Middle East Aviation Business Seminar held in Bahrain on December 7&8. Ana Carolina Friedmann do Lago, Marketing Manager for the Middle East, offered her analysis on how capacity requirements among airlines in the region were changing. She invited delegates to consider the experience of several Middle East carriers who spoke about how smaller aircraft were shaping their corporate strategies and redefining their networks.
“There are more than 40 E-Jets flying some 150 city pairs in a region that is home to a lot of A380s, yet there are some extraordinary things that airlines are doing with smaller airplanes,” according to Ana Carolina. “The Airline Business Seminar is a forum in which we can present the market trends and discuss the opportunities that people may not always see.”
Six distinguished industry analysts and airline speakers shared their perspectives. Geoffrey Weston of the Seabury Group and Raymond Kollau from Airtrends gave their views on how Middle East carriers were industry leaders in traffic growth and customer service.
Representatives from Flybe, EgyptAir Express and Oman Air talked about deployment strategies for their E-Jets fleets. Mr. Samer Majali, CEO of Gulf Air in Bahrain, the conference’s host city, reviewed his company’s experience with smaller capacity aircraft and how they fit into the overall network and fleet plan.
This is the second year that Embraer has hosted its Middle East seminar. Last year’s two-day conference was held in Amman just prior to the start of the Dubai Air Show.
Watch for a more detailed report about the conference in an upcoming issue of Arabian Skylines, Embraer’s newsletter highlighting company and customer activities in the Middle East.