Air Transport Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
Air Transport Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
The significant role played by the airline industry in enhancing and improving economic, social and political development is widely recognised by governments in advanced and developing countries and is reflected in the literature of transport geography and related fields. In the Middle East, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries recognise the fundamental importance of civil aviation to their national economies. Governments and planners have created wide-ranging infrastructures to facilitate the development and operation of efficient air services. These services are critical elements not only within the oil-based economies and the changing social fabrics of the region but also within the wider context of international political cooperation at local, regional and global levels.
In its brief history the success that the airline industry in the GCC region has achieved has been impressive. Distances between major centres of population are great and alternative means of transport are limited or unsatisfactory. Rail transportation is practically non-existent throughout the Arab world and as road networks do not cover all the urban centres the distances involved make air travel the best modal choice available. The airline industry and system, therefore, have been developed to meet the immediate requirements of the six countries that form the GCC. The region now with its well established international airports provides connections between the West and the East and provides opportunities and channels for growth in the competitive environment created by global, regional and local market forces.
This study is an attempt to evaluate these market forces in order to analyse their impact on the airline industry in the area. Its primary goal is to demonstrate how market forces can be used as a framework for analysing problems and challenges that are facing the airline industry in the area under consideration. It also compares the strategies applied by governments and airline companies to investigate how airlines in the region deal with their problems and gain an understanding of the mechanics of airline deregulation, privatisation, alliances and open sky policies recently applied in the hitherto regulated global market. Airlines are and will continue to be under the ever present demand to rationalise costs and manage yields; also to employ the most effective strategies for expansion and growth without incurring unacceptable costs.
University of Southampton
Al-Shalan, Ibrahim A.I
e9d16f9a-ef6e-4eaf-a6a9-708325a61ff1
2001
Al-Shalan, Ibrahim A.I
e9d16f9a-ef6e-4eaf-a6a9-708325a61ff1
Al-Shalan, Ibrahim A.I
(2001)
Air Transport Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The significant role played by the airline industry in enhancing and improving economic, social and political development is widely recognised by governments in advanced and developing countries and is reflected in the literature of transport geography and related fields. In the Middle East, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries recognise the fundamental importance of civil aviation to their national economies. Governments and planners have created wide-ranging infrastructures to facilitate the development and operation of efficient air services. These services are critical elements not only within the oil-based economies and the changing social fabrics of the region but also within the wider context of international political cooperation at local, regional and global levels.
In its brief history the success that the airline industry in the GCC region has achieved has been impressive. Distances between major centres of population are great and alternative means of transport are limited or unsatisfactory. Rail transportation is practically non-existent throughout the Arab world and as road networks do not cover all the urban centres the distances involved make air travel the best modal choice available. The airline industry and system, therefore, have been developed to meet the immediate requirements of the six countries that form the GCC. The region now with its well established international airports provides connections between the West and the East and provides opportunities and channels for growth in the competitive environment created by global, regional and local market forces.
This study is an attempt to evaluate these market forces in order to analyse their impact on the airline industry in the area. Its primary goal is to demonstrate how market forces can be used as a framework for analysing problems and challenges that are facing the airline industry in the area under consideration. It also compares the strategies applied by governments and airline companies to investigate how airlines in the region deal with their problems and gain an understanding of the mechanics of airline deregulation, privatisation, alliances and open sky policies recently applied in the hitherto regulated global market. Airlines are and will continue to be under the ever present demand to rationalise costs and manage yields; also to employ the most effective strategies for expansion and growth without incurring unacceptable costs.
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Published date: 2001
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 464489
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/464489
PURE UUID: 87c10652-5467-4447-8f0f-4518cb5afa35
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 23:41
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 19:33
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Author:
Ibrahim A.I Al-Shalan
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