In our first anniversary post in September we committed to diversifying our analyses to include more non-Qantas and global topics. This is one of our first in-depth forays into this and takes a deep dive into the operational strategy behind global connecting hubs. We’re starting with Emirates and their Dubai hub, and will follow-up with others in the coming months.
A common misconception is that EK are singularly focussed on connecting passengers between Australia and Europe. While Europe is their most important market for Australia, hubs need diverse network to be successful. End-of-the-line carriers like QF are different, utilise hub/s to distribute a traffic to a narrow range of domestic or regional destinations.
As our recent “chart of the week” post showed, approximately 90% of Australia-UAE passengers are net transit traffic. This is a huge number, but where are all these passengers coming from and going to, and just how does it work?
