A friend has recently shared a list of top airlines for 2012 and Emirates was ranked third after Singapore and New Zealand. It is no surprise to see Emirates Airlines, which is only 27 years old, among the world’s best airlines, specially with its massive fleet that connects you to more than 120 destinations. Several months back I have criticized Emirates Airlines for their poor customer service. In the same manner I have criticized them before, it is only fair to praise them again for a job well done. On my recent trips things has changed. I have seen a much better attitude and improved service from the cabin crew, and it was back to the Emirates I knew a few years ago. I am very happy that Emirates listened and changed. I hope they keep this service consistent.
The reason why I am also writing this post, is to look at the Emirates experience as in interesting case of both business and strategy. In 1985, Gulf Air, which was probably one of the more prominent airlines regionally, decided to cut back its flights to Dubai due to its fear of being a feeder to other carriers. This of course would affect Dubai’s ambition to become a business hub for the region and this was the move that triggered the start of Emirates Airlines.
It did not take too long before Emirates have become a major rival to Gulf Air and later one of the biggest player in the global aviation industry. Gulf Air today is struggling to survive. It is a case of shortsightedness and ignorance from Gulf Air, and a result of sitting in its comfort zone.
With the ambitions of Dubai and the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and the high standards set by him, it was not too long before Emirates Airlines started to grow both in number of airplanes and revenue, and i am sure that in a few years, it will become the number one airline the world.
The executives at Gulf Air failed to see the potential and opportunity ahead of them as the decision was based on potential competition rather than potential collaboration. Had Gulf Air worked with the authorities in Dubai, things would have been different today and we may have not seen Emirates come to life. In fact Gulf Air today might have been among the top airlines in the world.
Collaboration and not competition is probably the best solution to growth. Competition will always exist in business, but those who have a long-term vision, know very well that with collaboration more can be achieved. This case may be almost 30 years old, but if we look today, a lot of large corporations are heading for more collaboration to sustain their positions in business and grow. Additionally, many would feel that their position in the market would give them superior advantage, ignoring the possibility of smaller and more ambitious players becoming tomorrow’s rivals. And this indeed was the case for Emirates and Gulf Air. In the end, both Emirates and Dubai ended up as winners!