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Bloomberg

Asian carriers like Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines (SIA) are among the best positioned airlines to weather the war in the Middle East as travellers scramble for flights – and pay huge premiums – to escape the conflict.
Asian airlines have emerged as one of the go-to choices for people leaving the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Extensive airspace closures mean carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways have essentially ground to a halt, creating opportunities for rivals that can fly non-stop between Europe and Asia.
Passengers in European hubs are handing over huge sums of money to secure a seat to Asia on flights that bypass the Middle East.

A one-way economy ticket flying SIA from Heathrow to Singapore on Thursday cost US$8,540 – a 900 per cent increase on fares later in the month. The same ticket on a flight to Hong Kong is HK$26,737 (US$3,400), compared with HK$5,670 in just a few weeks from now.
But it is unclear how long such sky-high fares, which are also helping absorb the surge in oil prices resulting from the war, will last.
While prolonged disruptions would underpin higher fares for longer, a resolution to the conflict likely comes with a swift resumption of operations for the region’s carriers, given the Middle East’s critical importance to global travel and trade flows.
“Asian airlines may see a short-term combination of higher fares, stronger cargo yields and modest market share gains,” said Linus Benjamin Bauer, founder of aviation advisory firm BAA & Partners.
“But this is fundamentally a redistribution of traffic, not a structural rebalancing of global aviation networks.”


Suspension of regular services by dominant Gulf carriers Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad since Saturday has removed over 10 per cent of daily international flight capacity, as measured in available seat kilometres, according to consultancy OAG Aviation.
More than 23,000 flights have been cancelled through Thursday, according to Cirium. While a limited number of evacuation flights from the United Arab Emirates have been allowed, airspace across the Gulf including Qatar, Iran and Iraq remains closed to regular air traffic.
Middle Eastern hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are key stopover points for long-haul travel. The Gulf’s biggest airports handle about a third of the 125 million people who travel between Europe and Asia each year, according to Roland Berger data.
Airline stocks hit
That has hammered global aviation stocks, though hopes of a fast resolution to the war offered some recent relief.
The major Middle Eastern carriers are not publicly listed but British Airways’ owner IAG is down almost 9 per cent this week, Deutsche Lufthansa fell 7.7 per cent and Air France-KLM tumbled 15 per cent.
Meanwhile, SIA has lost less than 7 per cent and Cathay is down about 5.5 per cent.
Mainland Chinese carriers may also be well positioned to increase passenger numbers in the absence of the Middle Eastern airlines.
The likes of Air China and China Eastern Airlines have already been increasing flights to Europe by using Russian airspace – a route that many rivals have suspended since the invasion of Ukraine, choosing instead to fly between Asia and Europe via Azerbaijan and Georgia.

For some travellers, the sudden attacks will kick-start a longer-term rethink of which routes they take.
Aiden McAleenan, a 28-year-old registered nurse, had his plans to relocate to Melbourne from the UK thrown into disarray when Qatar Airways cancelled his flight on Tuesday.
He was able to re-book with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur on March 4 and said he is reluctant to fly via the Middle East. “The stopovers in Asia do look more interesting. In future, I would look at the big hubs in Asia for peace of mind or not being stranded at the airport,” he said.
“The security situation counts for a lot,” said Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines’ director general Subhas Menon. “Clearly the Middle East airlines are under pressure. They definitely will be quite badly affected if this situation is prolonged, while Asian carriers don’t have a security situation, so their hubs are in a good place.”

Overall though, industry watchers say consumers are likely to return to the Middle Eastern carriers when safe travel is ensured. The connectivity of airlines’ home airports will continue to be a major selling point, as will their competitive pricing and high-quality service offerings.
“Drawing on recent incidents, airspace closures following previous attacks did not meaningfully translate to a shift away from the affected country once operations normalised,” DBS Bank analysts Tabitha Foo and Jason Sum said.
“While the scale of the current closures is broader and potentially more disruptive, history suggests that traffic flows tend to revert once airspace reopens.”


Sky-high jump in airfares from Hong Kong to Europe, Americas – even Asian cities

Hong Kong seeks to secure seats on flights from Dubai for residents stranded by war

Asian airlines emerge on top as travellers fight for flights out of Middle East

First batch of stranded passengers returns home amid ongoing US-Israel strikes on Iran

Aviation

Family members cheer as passengers return to  Singapore from the Middle East at Changi Airport on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Passengers stranded by suspended air traffic check into a hotel in Doha, Qatar, on Monday. Photo: EPA

Emirates and Qatar Airways planes sit on the tarmac at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters 

Passengers arrive from Dubai flight at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Asia’s travel sector rattled by Iran attacks, fears of ‘domino effect’ slowdown

A display board at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi shows cancelled flights to Dubai and Doha on Monday, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran. Photo: Reuters

Smoke billows from Jebel Ali port after an Iranian attack in Dubai on Sunday, following US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Photo: Reuters

An empty arrivals area at Dubai International Airport as seen on Monday, following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Photo: Reuters

Asia faces oil shock as US-Iran war chokes Strait of Hormuz

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. An estimated 20 million barrels of oil per day pass through the chokepoint. Photo: Reuters

Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz. An estimated 20 million barrels of oil per day pass through the chokepoint. Photo: Reuters

A worker rides a bicycle at a Bharat Petroleum Corporation refinery in Mumbai, India. Photo: Reuters

People watch as smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday. Photo: AP

Death of Iran’s Khamenei sparks outrage and calls for restraint in Asia

Shiite Muslims mourn the killing of Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Srinagar, India-run Kashmir, on Sunday. Photo: EPA

People take part in a protest against the US and Israel in Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday. Photo: EPA

Shiite Muslims mourn Khamenei’s death in Srinagar, India-run Kashmir, on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Asia’s oil dependence leaves it exposed after US-Israel strikes on Iran: Morgan Stanley

Tanker traffic has largely halted on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman along Iran’s southern coast. The disruption is expected to hit global crude supply. Photo: Reuters

A plume of smoke rising from Zayed Port following a reported Iranian strike in Abu Dhabi on March 1. Photo: AFP

Asian shippers fear spiralling costs as Iran threatens Strait of Hormuz closure

Up to 20 million barrels of oil pass each day through the Strait of Hormuz, one-fifth of the global supply. Photo: Reuters

The Sharan oil depot in Tehran on fire following Israeli strikes on Iran on June 15. Photo: Handout via Reuters

A view of a ship on fire after a reported collision between two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday last week. Photo: European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2/Handout via Reuters

A Houthi supporter steps on US and Israel flags during a protest in Sana’a, Yemen, in 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Australasia

It costs US$8,540 to fly economy on Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to the city state – a 900 per cent increase on fares later in the month


It costs US$8,540 to fly economy on Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to the city state – a 900 per cent increase on fares later in the month.


Singapore Airlines

Cathay Pacific

US-Iran tensions

Israel-Iran conflict

Asian airlines emerge on top as travellers fight for flights out of Middle East

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}It costs US$8,540 to fly economy on Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to the city state – a 900 per cent increase on fares later in the month

It costs US$8,540 to fly economy on Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to the city state – a 900 per cent increase on fares later in the month