Airline ticket prices soar on Asia-Europe routes after Gulf airport closures

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HONG KONG - The prices of flights between Asia and Europe have soared after the closure of key Middle Eastern hubs due to the US-Israeli attack against Iran, with airline websites showing tickets on many popular routes booked out for days.

Major Gulf hubs, including the world’s busiest international airport Dubai – which normally handles more than 1,000 flights a day – remained closed for a fourth day on March 3.

The closures slashed capacity on popular routes like Australia to Europe, where Emirates and Qatar Airways normally have a high market share.

Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group has experienced a 75 per cent increase in calls to its stores and emergency assistance lines since the crisis began.

It has teams working around the clock to help customers affected by the disruptions, its global managing director Andrew Stark said.

“Australians are very resilient and are already rebooking flights to the UK/Europe via alternative routes via China, Singapore and other Asian hubs, as well as North America via hubs such as Houston,” he said.

Ms Charlotte Kennard and her father Richard were among those affected.

They were due to fly from Birmingham to Sydney via Dubai on Emirates on March 1 but were caught in the disruption.

Although the airline said it was “monitoring the situation” and would update them 24 hours before departure, none came and they arrived at the airport to find the flight cancelled, she said.

The 20-year-old said they later secured seats on a Singapore Airlines flight departing London on March 3, paying £1,900 (A$3,235) each for one-way tickets.

Ms Kennard said tickets cost A$2,500 (S$2,240) the previous night and were far higher than their original return fare of A$2,300.

“Living in Australia, we’re generally quite far from conflict and I think being closer to it provoked a new sense of fear and stress,” she said.

“Ultimately, we are just looking forward to seeing our home, family and dog again.”

Carriers that offer non-stop Europe-Asia flights are able to bypass the closed Middle Eastern airspace by flying north via the Caucasus then Afghanistan, or south via Egypt and then Saudi Arabia and Oman.

But it may add to flight times and fuel usage, driving up costs at a time when oil prices have spiked, in a move that could lead to higher fares over the longer term.

“Right now the whole of the Middle East is out of bounds, which is a high price for some airlines,” said Mr Subhas Menon, head of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. “If Europe can be served only at a high cost, airline profitability will be undermined. At the end of the day, the price to pay is connectivity.”

Alternative options

Alton Aviation Consultancy said airlines operating non-stop services or through alternative hubs outside the affected region – including Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines – may see short-term gains as passengers shift away from Gulf-based carriers.

Reuters’ checks of several airlines’ websites on March 3 showed few near-term bookings available and high prices on offer for flights from Asia to London.

Cathay ​Pacific’s website showed no available ​economy-class seats on the Hong Kong-London route until March 11, with a one-way ticket on that day costing at least HK$21,158 (S$3,460), falling to a more normal HK$5,054 later in the month.

For flights from Sydney to London, Qantas Airways is not offering any economy-class tickets on flights via its normal Perth and Singapore routings until March 17, when one is available for A$3,129 one way.

For earlier dates, it has pricey options with non-traditional stopovers such as Los Angeles and Johannesburg.

Thai Airways is experiencing fully booked Europe-bound flights as European tourists opt for direct routes rather than transiting through the Middle East, according to Thailand’s Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

A search of the Thai Airways site for travel from Bangkok to London showed tickets were sold out until late next week, and then fares were high. An economy-class ticket for a one-way flight was available for 71,190 baht (S$2,870) on March 15, with prices dropping to 27,045 baht by March 18.

Taiwan’s EVA Airways said bookings for its Europe-bound flights had surged as Asian and European passengers seek alternative routing options.

Mainland Chinese airlines’ websites showed fares on China-UK routes have also surged far above normal levels, with economy-class seats largely unavailable for near-term departures.

A return economy-class ticket from Beijing to London typically costs under 10,000 yuan (S$1,860), but Air China’s only option for March 4 is business class, with a one-way ticket priced at 50,490 yuan. REUTERS