Emirates with Jet Blue, why not with Iran Air, Aseman and Mahan Air?

The below clip was released on Nov 15 at ( http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/11/15/04344/630/travel/Middle+East+A+Go-Go%3A+JetBlue+and+Emirates+Buddy+Up+for+Seamless+Travel ) :

"This morning, JetBlue announces that they are now totally tight with Dubai-based airline Emirates, via an interline agreement. What this means is, starting today, flyers will be able to purchase seamless flight itineraries that begin on JetBlue or Emirates and end on the other, making trips like the above ("Raleigh to Riyadh") possible, complete with one-stop check-in and baggage transfer between the airlines. Currently the bookings can be made by calling Emirates reservations, with a roll-out to Emirates.com soon." 

From a traditional standpoint, I would think this is great news. Expanded international reach for the carrier with the biggest A380 flight (on order) joining hands with a good (primarily) domestic US carrier. With that said, part of me finds this idea of bigger/better/global/international a bit old. Perhaps some of the more interesting and less cultivated opportunities lie in local complementary penetration of progressive emerging markets where generally about half the populations tend to be under the age of 30 and income levels + internet penetration + air traffic are growing at faster rates than developed countries.

If we take a snapshot of Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Russia - Iran Air has more departure/arrival points than Emirates. Emirates relative advantage is on long haul international destinations, however Iran Aseman Airliens, Mahan Air (and to a lesser degree Iran Air), have established credible local/regional networks.  

    Carrier      Departure/Arrival Points

    Iran Air     19

    Emirates     16

    British Airways     13

    EgyptAir     13

    Iran Aseman Airlines     13

    Mahan Air     13

To further strengthen the complementary aspect of such a deal, the flow of passengers through Dubai International Airport (Listed on Wikipedia) indicates a similar opportunity. Perhaps Emirates and other carriers would do well to focus on bolstering the local region: there are complementary synergies to be made, the shareholders and the local end consumers would benefit.

Busiest International Routes from Dubai (2010)

Rank	Destination	Weekly Flights out of Dubai
1	Kuwait	186
2	Bahrain	181
3	Tehran-Imam Khomeini	172
4	Mumbai	134
5	Muscat	135
6	London-Heathrow	99

Expedia, Gulf Air and the right price

Strange for some reason the same ticket (Gul Air Dec 23 - Jan 3 London - Bahrain) is priced cheaper through an Online Travel Agent (Expedia) than buying the ticket from the actual airline site.  Which side of the chain is over pricing or under pricing? Perhaps Expedia is being honest when they claim an Expedia discount fare and are simply selling the gulf air ticket for slightly less margin. On the flip side that could mean that Gulf Air is charging the price to the end consumer that Online travel agents charge, so Gulf Air is increasing their original prices to make them the same with Online Travel Agents so that there isn't a big benefit for an end consumer to buy from them or an Online Travel Agent, in the long run this could help bolster multiple distribution channels. Or I could just be reading this all wrong.

Whats the least bad seat

http://www.seatguru.com/

An interesting site that lets you check per airline, per route, per aircraft.

Some major carriers are not on the list, but perhaps other people can contribute that information over time.

"There are significant differences when flying Pacific-based airlines and Atlantic-based ones," says the CEO of Seatguru.com. In addition the site has comparison charts that make it possible to compare not only seat pitch, but amenities on various carriers. Typically, Pacific-based carriers are superior in these categories.

From another website, not a big surprise, Singapore Airlines gets the highest remarks for service (even in economy class).

http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=681&category=1

Pakistan International Airlines and the Roosevelt Hotel

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), like many national carriers, has operated at a loss for years. To be more precise the carrier has consistently lost money every year since 2004. As a crowning achievement in 2007 its fleet was banned from traveling in the EU (except for 8 planes) due to safety issues, there was some controversy over the safety ban scope.

Fast forward to November 2010, AFP's headline today displays consistency "Pakistan airline seeks state bail out to survive."

There have been some positive milestones for PIA

• First Asian airline to land in Norway
• Owner of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan

To be fair, probably more state owned carriers have been operating at a loss than haven't. This just puts such carriers in stark contrast to flagship carriers like Emirates and Singapore Airlines that have successfully developed on a commercial basis.

Iran Air, Aseman Airlines, Mahan Air and Market Relevance

Interestingly, if one looks at the consolidated air traffic footprint of the Gulf, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Russia - Iran Air ranks as the fourth busiest airline in the area (ranked by the number of departure/arrival points).

This puts Iran Air ahead of Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad (the three primary Gulf long haul carriers). Of course, these three long haul carriers have more international destinations, but from a regional standpoint Iran Air is more active.

The next highest ranked Irani carriers in the region, Iran Aseman Airlines and Mahan Air are tied with British Airways and EgyptAir for the number of arrival/departure points in the consolidated area (13 each).

I generated the above rankings from Wikipedia, the airports list out the airlines active and the destinations they travel to from the departure point. The results can be ranked/sorted in Excel.

With that said, it will be interesting to see what the repercussions are with refueling sanctions against the fourth most active civilian carrier of the region.

Below is a meal from Iran Air (The rice is green from Dill).