BERLIN, June 9 (Reuters) – Emirates will launch incentives aimed at winning back travelers concerned about the prolonged war in Iran by prioritizing reliability and customer support over lower fares, the airline’s president, Tim Clark, told Reuters on Tuesday.
The state-owned airline will maintain its strategy of preserving flight schedules despite rising costs, Clark said in his first interview with an international news agency since the start of the conflict in late February, which has affected Middle Eastern airlines.
The company will offer ‘all kinds of incentives beyond price’ to encourage passengers to return, he said, even as negotiations to end the conflict drag on and attacks in the Persian Gulf region have increased in recent days.
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“These could be new ways to ensure the safety of operations, for example,” Clark said on the sidelines of an industry summit in Berlin, adding that the airline would also address concerns about canceled flights and stranded passengers.
‘We will take care of all of this, including transporting them on other airlines, if necessary, to bring them home or take the children to school,’ said the executive, adding that flight safety remains the company’s top priority. Clark also said Emirates is in talks with governments and regulators to ease restrictions on Middle Eastern airspace, which has been limited by the US and Israeli war against Iran.
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The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued conflict zone alerts, advising airlines to avoid flying over parts of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.
“We’re talking to them,” Clark said, referring to governments in the region, while also acknowledging the duty of regulators to protect passengers. “We’re counting on governments to be a little less restrictive in the warnings they issue about travel through the Middle East.”
He added that Emirates was in close contact with regional governments and stated that information sharing with airlines was extensive to ensure safe operations.
Clark said the airline could not reduce ticket prices for now to attract travelers back to its main hub in Dubai. ‘The price of the ticket depends a lot on the initial price of oil, and at the moment the price of oil is fluctuating,’ he said.
He added that Emirates is still expecting a good summer season, despite the conflict leaving first-class cabins at about half occupancy, and predicted that oil prices will eventually fall from around $90 per barrel to around $70.
‘And then we’ll come back,’ he said. “But it’s a question of how long it will take.”
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