Six Middle Eastern carriers are planning a multilateral alliance called “Arabesk” that they expect will lead to the launch of co-ordinated schedules and codesharing early next year.
Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) secretary general Abdul Wahab Teffaha says that he expects the six airlines to “sign it off” shortly, enabling schedules co-ordination by April 2006. Teffaha says EgyptAir, Gulf Air, Middle East Airlines, Oman Air, Royal Jordanian and Saudi Arabian Airlines are behind the creation of Arabesk, which he dubs a “virtual alliance”. He adds that Tunis Air and Yemenia may also join.
Sabre Airline Solutions is deeply involved in the project through the use of its network analysis applications and other products. Teffaha says Arabesk “will strengthen the competitiveness of our members as a whole and provide better connectivity for travellers throughout the world and within the region”.
“With the creation of Arabesk, these airlines intend to co-operate and compete directly with larger carriers and alliances with a combined network, while still competing with each other for passengers based on a competitive pricing policy,” he says. The initial goal of the alliance is to optimise the schedules of each airline which will help lead to codesharing, says Teffaha, adding that it will also help boost operations in underserved markets.
Source: Airline Business
