How does EK do it?
 

I was looking at their US website and saw their sale fares for Oz to be 1149 before taxes. I have seen regular fare for 1600-1700 for such a long flight as well as some amazing prices for JFK-LOS,NBO,JNB and many other places in Africa. How do they price it so low and gives miles for every paid fare for such long distances and then make a profit? Or why don't other airlines do so...SQ are you feeling me????

For JFK-Oz EK's price has to be very low in order to attract any business. It is much further on EK than on say QF or UA/NZ.

Yeah I realize that, that's why I asked how/why do they do it and turn a profit??

For starters EK jams in more seats in economy than other airlines, gets cheap fuel and other support from their owner.

From other threads of discussions, I think it is fair to say that Emirates benefits from load factors that are significantly above airline norms. However, above all, I think there is either a large degree of govt. subsidisation or acceptance of much lower margins, as the success of Emirates has seen as a key part of the strategy to attract people to/through Dubai, thereby helping the state's economy to develop, diversify and grow.

I believe its actually the opposite. EK's break even load factor is around 60%, and its average load factor is around 75%.

Also - there is 0 gov subsidisation, but EK does benefit from low oil costs. I think their success is partly due to their very effective pricing stragety. They always seems to be getting the most amount of money out of me that they possibly can.

Cheers

I flew EK from SIN to CMB on a 777 with 10-across seating in Economy. The seats were the narrowest I have ever seen on a commercial airfcraft and the 1709 miles seemed like an eternity. I hate to even think of what a JFK-DXB-SYD journey would be like on that aircraft.

DXB-SYD nonstop is A345, but there is 777 via BKK (so even longer in the seat).

Isn't JFK-DXB also an A345?

Yes, but EK will be doing some aircraft changing this summer. It is tbc, but from the late fall it will either be 2x 77W and 1x 345 or 1x 77W and 2x 345.

Cheers

I am sure this has been debated on this thread before but I will say it again EK does get help from the Government (Royal Family). It may not be documented but it would be foolish to believe a carrier as good and modern as EK can constantly undercut the competition and have no help from their home town.

It has been reported that Dubai is running out of oil and the Royal Family are looking at other ways to sure up the prosperous future of the UAE by creating a 1st class airline plus creating other revenue building platforms like establishing a tourist trade (Eg worlds biggest indoor ski resort, Worlds only 7 star hotel) plus the introduction of the A1. It has been reported that while they can the Royal Family will do “all they can to ensure the future of EK” and I am sure they are ;)

Wow, 3x/day, that says a lot about EK, they must be doing something right.

Dubai wants to create the "mother of all hubs" and EK is the way they are doing it. I have no doubt that the royal family is lending a hand whenever possible as there is a great rivalry between Dubai (Emirates) and Abu Dhabi (Etihad). Dubai is also building a newer and much bigger airport. This is from Wikipedia; notice the "new" name of the airport...

Dubai World Central International Airport (IATA: JXB, ICAO: Unknown) is a new airport under construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. This airport was formerly known as "Jebel Ali International Airport". The airport will cover 140 square km (54 square miles) and include facilities for cargo, finance, and other industries. It will also include a golf course. Upon completion, it will be the world's largest by physical size. Dubai intends for Dubai World Central to pass Heathrow, O'Hare, and Atlanta in passenger metrics, but it will initially service cargo airlines. The airport will complement Dubai International Airport, some 40 km (24 miles) away.

As to whether they will succeed in creating a "first class" airline, that all depends if (and when) they start working on providing consistent service and reducing unscheduled aircraft changes...

The "narrowest" seats are 1 inch less (17) than on other aircrafts (18).
I understand, that for some people one inch matters.

On the other hand they have 3 inch more legroom (34 against 31 on most other airlines), this is much more important for lot of other people!

Most passengers would be Asian and they are generally not as tall nor heavy as fellow European / North American passengers. I appreciate all the space that I can get.I know that they have an extra seat in each row but it works for them.

Yes, When I was in year 6(12 years old) i used to hire out my gameboy to people at my school for $1/game. Someone else started doing it for 80c/game, so I dropped my prices to 40c/game and sent them out of business. My success was my pricing strategy. But without Government subsidy (my parents) I would have never been able to afford the cost of fuel (batteries).