AB25: reflections from Akbar Al-Baker and Samer Majali

To mark the 25th anniversary of Airline Business, 25 leading airline industry executives who have helped shape the sector over the last quarter century, give their reflections on the last 25 years and the challenges for the years to come. Here two of the Middle East region's most influential chef executives share their thoughts with us:

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al-Baker looks back at the evolution of the sector over the past 25 years and argues governments need to understand the social benefits of air transport at the same time that airlines play their part in an environmentally sustainable future.  He writes:

"Airlines worldwide continue to compete on the three fundamentals of cost, network, and product. However, in all of these areas, both the way airlines compete and the marketplace in which they compete has changed dramatically.

No longer is an international trip solely seen as one across the Atlantic or the occasional business trip to Asia, or the rare governmental trip to the developing world. Today, most of the world is flying because it is developed or rapidly developing and is affordable for everybody."

Gulf Air chief executive, and former Royal Jordanian boss, Samer Majali argues the industry must be given the freedom to operate in a free market to ensure healthy competition and continued development of the industry. He writes:

"Imagine a world in which airlines operate in a free market, able to realise their full potential through economies of scale, not hampered by barriers that increase costs and curb development, not constrained by archaic bilateral agreements, not overcharged by monopoly suppliers. Imagine a truly international airline free from restricted foreign-ownership regulations and the pressure to be used as a tool of foreign policy. Imagine an airline able to offer its passengers the most efficient service possible, invest more in fleet expansion and innovation. Imagine an airline that competes with other airlines purely on a commercial basis - not dictated by politics and oligopoly - and that generates a healthy profit and even helps to increase the businesses of the entire value chain. Sadly, this aviation utopia is still a dream."

• Read all 25 leader perspectives and messages and contributions from other senior figures;
• Airline industry figures give their reflections on the last 25 years in our special video report
• Follow the ups and downs of the industry since 1985 with our interactive airline industry timeline;

Source: Airline Business