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Gulf Times Thursday, February 13, 2014

COMMENT
Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed Production Editor: C P Ravindran

P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar editor@gulf-times.com Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Fax 44350474

GULF TIMES
Mourinhos boldness makes Chelsea a side to look up to
Never mind the little horse nonsense, the two points dropped at West Bromwich Albion or the distraction of whether Chelsea are better equipped to win the title this season or next. Jose Mourinhos return is proving a success, isnt it? If there is truth in the maxim that it is never a good idea to go back, Mourinho is unafraid of it. While Chelsea may not have been his preferred destination, at this stage you would never have guessed. Despite approximately half the country hoping he would fall at on his face at Stamford Bridge, things have gone so smoothly it is almost as if he had never been away. Looking at the rst knockout stage of the Champions League that begins next week, it could reasonably be argued that Chelsea are the English club with the best chance of progressing. That has a lot to do with the difficult ties faced by Arsenal and Manchester City and the lamentable state of Manchester United at the moment, but it also has something to do with the condence Mourinho inspires in these situations. Without intending any disrespect to Galatasaray, Chelsea supporters will already be looking ahead to the next round, even if the impressive Nemanja Matic is cup-tied for the Champions League this season. Both Mourinhos January signings are cup-tied for the Champions League in fact, Mohamed Salah having played for Basel in the group stage just as Matic appeared for Benca, and many a manager might have thought twice before going for such a pair. Not Mourinho. The Chelsea manager argued, quite reasonably, that those were the two players he wanted even if they would only be fully integrated into the team next season, and in the meantime he had players such as Eden Hazard, Willian and Mikel John Obi who could ll in for this seasons Champions League xtures. He knows what he wants, in other words. He can see the way his team should be playing and he knows the personnel he needs in order to make it happen. That may seem obvious, normal, football manager stuff, but compared to what is happening at Manchester United and to a lesser extent Arsenal or more accurately what is not happening at those clubs Mourinhos decisiveness and bold sense of direction stands out. Arsene Wenger usually appears to have a good idea of what he wants but is diffident about going out to get it. History will be the judge of whether Ferguson and United made a good choice of new manager, and history may not take as long as everyone seems to think it will, but one thing has been certain since the very beginning of the season when Mourinho got his feet back under the table at Chelsea and said he would like to buy Wayne Rooney. Moyes was always likely to nd it hard at United, and is doing. The very last thing he needed was a personal rival at Chelsea making it all look so easy.
flydubai has rapidly increased frequency between its Dubai hub and Doha since launching the route in October 2009.

Qatar-UAE air corridor nears magical 100 ights a day

The DohaDubai route is by far the largest intra-Gulf route and fast emerging as one of the most competitive and high frequency air corridors in the world
By Updesh Kapur Doha ondonParis, Singapore Bangkok, DelhiMumbai, SydneyMelbourne, San FranciscoLos Angeles, BeijingShanghai; Johannesburg Cape Town; New YorkChicago; Sao PauloRio de Janeiro; Madrid Barcelona. Vibrant, energetic, multi-cultural, exotic and glamorous are just a few words that describe these global cities. Yet they all have a common feature. Compelling city pairings that are among the worlds most popular domestic and cross border short-haul air routes. Capitals connected with secondary cities; commercial hubs linked with political centres; and tourist hubs brought closer together. Dozens of ights operate between these cities each day, ying passengers 60 to 90 minutes along busy air corridors. Competing airlines plough multiple frequencies to capitalise on high passenger traffic. Hourly departures in each direction have given rise to terms such as ying bus services, mirroring high frequency routings etched in public transport timetables. Many airlines speak of the longhaul market and the need to show a presence linking countries that are a considerable distance apart. But the short-haul market has just an important pivotal role in building and reinforcing connections for a thriving and successful aviation business. Short-haul markets bridge trade, business and strengthen bilateral links between neighbouring countries and, indeed, among intra-nation states. Short-haul and long-haul ights interconnect to provide an intrinsic aviation infrastructure that is part and parcel of air travel today. The routes outlined at the outset, however, are big enough not to rely on connections. Instead, they meet the demand for the sectors they serve. For example, a passenger whose origin destination is Sao Paulo, would most likely end the journey in Rio than connect onwards. The same

Many had hoped he would fall flat on his face at Stamford Bridge

Air Arabia has recently added capacity between Doha and Sharjah in the UAE. can be said for the Los AngelesSan Francisco and MumbaiDelhi routes. In the Gulf, much has been written about the Big Three Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad developing global networks using their respective hubs to attract and connect passengers to and from far ung destinations. The short sectors are a huge pipeline in the Gulf, helping feed traffic onto long-haul services operated by the regions rapidly growing aviation giants, whether the full service global network airlines or rising stars in the low-cost arena. The DohaDubai route is by far the largest intra-Gulf route and fast emerging as one of the most competitive and high frequency air corridors in the world. It is a key short-haul route that largely feeds medium and long-haul services. Three airlines operate ights along this air bridge. Between them, Qatar Airways, Emirates and ydubai offer 28 ights daily in each direction. In two weeks time, options for passengers will increase further when capacity will be ploughed into Dubais newest airport Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) as Qatar Airways launches twice-daily services, beginning March 1. So, DohaDubai will soon have 30 ights operating each day, each way, equating to 60 services daily! In the case of DWC, the route will appeal to passengers living and working around southern Dubai, heading to Doha for business, leisure or to connect to a raft of onward global destinations served by the national carrier. For those departing Doha for Dubai World Central, it will be more a case of end to end traffic for business or leisure using DWC as an alternative gateway to the sprawling city that Dubai is. The positioning of DWC close to the Jebel Ali area of Dubai is part of a strategic initiative to establish a world rst aerotropolis in the UAEs commercial capital. Economic development is the focus to create a leading global trade, business and aviation hub. Air capacity at DWC is therefore certain to grow over the next few years. But it doesnt end there. If one takes into consideration Sharjah and the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, both also considered gateways to different parts of Dubai, daily frequency to and from the United Arab Emirates rises even further. Low-cost operator Air Arabia recently hiked frequency between Doha and Sharjah from two to three ights each day in both directions. March 1 will also see Qatar Airways add Sharjah to its UAE network with two ights daily, taking the combined Dubai/Sharjah frequency to 35 services each day. This represents, on average, one ight almost every 30 minutes in each direction. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker sums up the love affair between Qatar and the UAE: The ever-increasing demand for ights to the UAE has provided the business case for expanding our services to Sharjah and Dubai World Central. The location of both airports offer travellers alternative options to reach their nal destination when ying to Dubai. Add the DohaAbu Dhabi route, the count rises even more with 10 daily ights by Qatar Airways and Etihad between them. Total frequency connecting Qatar and the UAE goes up a level to 45 services in each direction, each day, seven days a week a staggering 90 ights operated by narrow and wide body aircraft seating up to 300 passengers. Between the ve big players, almost 500 destinations are served worldwide from their hubs offering passengers greater choice and more travel options. In the case of ydubai and Air Arabia, their low-cost models were initially based on point to point services, but increasingly on connections from their respective hubs to a growing network in Europe, Africa, Middle East, central Asia and Indian sub-continent. An interesting case study compared with low cost operators in other parts of the world where the model is essentially based on point to point business. The two low-cost players have encroached into territory of the Big Three Gulf carriers in some markets, carving a niche in their own right with a lower cost base than their fullservice peers. ydubai, which launched ights to Doha in October 2009, has begun venturing into a hybrid model by adding Business Class cabins on some aircraft, a decision justied by a growth in corporate traffic. Air Arabia, which recently celebrated a decade of ying to Qatar, remains focused on an all-Economy concept and shows no immediate signs of moving away from this strategy. Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Ali said: Since our inception in 2003, we have been committed to improve intra-GCC connectivity to major destinations in the Gulf. As we continue to play a vital role in connecting the nations, we have ambitious plans to strengthen operations to all airports within the GCC, offering enormous choice for customers seeking to travel around the region, where air travel is the only viable mode of transport. His words would clearly echo those of fellow CEOs of leading Gulf carriers, all seeking more connectivity as their networks grow. Short-haul and long-haul sit side by side and are far from operating in isolation. With 90 scheduled ights daily between Qatar and the UAE, regional carriers global reach expanding at a phenomenal rate, and the need for more feeder business to support new routes, it is only a matter of time before the magical number 100 is reached! Watch this space. Updesh Kapur is a PR & communications professional, columnist, aviation, hospitality and travel analyst. Twitter: @updeshkapur

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QatarUAE routes: (45 flights daily in each direction)

Doha to Dubai Qatar Airways: 13 flights daily Two new daily flights to Dubai World Central from March 1 Emirates: Six flights daily flydubai: Nine flights daily Doha to Sharjah Qatar Airways: Two flights daily, effective March 1 Air Arabia: Three flights daily Doha to Abu Dhabi Qatar Airways: Six flights daily Etihad: Four flights daily