(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) As leading airlines around the world reroute some of their flight paths to avoid Iranian airspace amid the ongoing US-Iran tensions, residents told Khaleej Times that they are 'unsure' whether these changes would impact summer travel plans.
Airline professionals and experts said they do not expect airfares to surge unless a 'fuel surcharge' is levied on passengers.
Gurdish S Bassi, project director at GRMC Advisory Services, said: "It is unlikely that airline passengers would face significantly longer flight times and fuel surcharges due to the re-routing." However, Emirates and other long-haul regional airlines are accustomed to such re-routing and have been avoiding Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian airspaces in the past without material impact on flight times and airfares.
He added: "Short-haul carriers flying to and from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries will have a relatively higher impact on flight time and fuel cost, thus possibly resulting in higher airfares."
Pradeep CS, a Dubai- based Indian marketing professional, is waiting to travel to India for the upcoming summer holidays. He purchased the tickets well in advance. "I booked tickets for my wife and child way back in May. It's tough to ascertain whether there will be substantial delays or fare hikes. Airline companies have not informed us of longer flight times," said Pradeep.
A senior Indian airline professional, on the condition of anonymity, said travel distance seldom has anything to do with airline pricing. He said: "Pricing is dictated by five to six factors, especially supply and demand. If demand exists in a sector, then prices will automatically surge. Other parameters include seasonality, sector competitiveness, passenger profile etc." He said there have been incidents where airlines have imposed a fuel surcharge during war times and this could lead to surge pricing.
A Sharjah-based pilot has also said there have been no noticeable changes in flight times, especially during departure. Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research in London, said: "I don't see airfares going up since airlines always have provision for flight delays, re-routing and any other emergencies that require ad-hoc changes to their usual travel plans and pathways."
"The real impact is around routes that skirt the Strait of Hormuz and the southern coast of Iran, so we're talking minimal airspace here. It's not like Syria where the bulk of the airspace is avoided or like with Ukraine in the aftermath of the downing of flight MH17," said Ahmed.
He said airlines like Emirates, flydubai, Etihad and Air Arabia are well positioned to continue a largely unchanged schedule of flights with minor re-routing to ensure flight safety at all times.
Emirates Airlines said the rerouting has minimally affected the arrival and departure timings of some flights. A statement on the website has urged passengers to check the latest schedules on emirates.com, so they can be informed of any flight changes.
Vinayak Mahtani, the CEO of bnbme, a holiday home management company said:
"For sure, higher fuel prices and longer travel times result in higher ticket prices. With the economy already under pressure, this will cut travellers total holiday budgets."
(With inputs from Waheed Abbas)
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