TheShed

I second this comment. I rarely use taxis as I prefer Uber but in a taxi last week the driver reckoned his earnings have dropped dramatically and he mainly tries to work around Palm and the Marina where there used to be a great many tourists.

al dente

Heard that ADNOC fired 1000.

the_red_sheep

I heard this week that passenger loads on Emirates for Jan have been down significantly, and they're expecting this year to be extremely tough, and they have they goal of doubling last years profit.

iggle

Make the flights cheaper then.

I know its Etihad, but GBP650 to Seychelles (4hr flight) is a joke.

mikewot

I don't have passenger numbers yet but actual movements are up on last year. About 700 more flights in Dec 15 from 14 and similar for Jan 16 from 15.
EK are still aggressively expanding routes.
The overall pax figures 2014 to 2015 calculated at the end of September (not a whole year) were up 12%. 52.5m whole of 2014 and 58.5m to end of Sept 2015.

Millhouse

I do wonder if all these oil and gas workers "who would never work in an expat destination without a feather bed" are accepting the IKEA sprung foam ones now.

IKnowNothing

You could always fly Air India via Mumbai.....

al dente

My father landed yesterday from Sydney on the a380. Only 200 on the flight and 50 disembarked here.

DXBtoDOH

Emirates is flooding the market with cheap fares. Mates of mine from the USA have just bought round trip tickets on Emirates to Kenya for this September for a safari and paid around $850 USD from the east coast. Transiting through Dubai. Pretty damn impressive given that it's only a few hundred more for someone flying straight from Dubai to Nairobi.

I just checked and I'm finding Emirates flights to the UAE from the USA for under $800 in November/December 2016. They used to be around $1200 or more.

iggle

Done that GBP 200 - not worth the hasle (of losing your bags)

NewCaledonia

There are many airlines tapping into the same market: Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and Turkish. The cake is probably too small for everyone to eat from.

A good price can make miracles. I know a few people who have flown from Western Europe to the US with Turkish via IST (paid like 350 euros). I also know someone who flew to Argentina from France... via Doha! because it was the cheapest option. An American friend flew recently to Western Europe from New York with Aeroflot via Moscow (I reckon Russians need to fill those empty seats now).

The other day Qatar Airways had their January sale and some fares were ridiculous ex-Europe. They were selling Brussels-India for 250 euro return with all taxes (and that was not an error fare, it was well advised in their Belgian website). Maybe Ryanair has new competitors.

Bahtatboy

Still some way to go, albeit not on ME routes. Leeds to Dublin return for £19.98, and EasyJet are currently doing Luton to Marrakech (which is 40% of the distance between London and AUH) for £20 one-way.

iggle

Well i know some people like the excitement, i tend to go to resorts where i wont get shot at. Maybe thats why that price is so cheap..

Bahtatboy

Long time since any tourists were shot in either Dublin or Marrakech.

scrubbedexpat141

I'd love to go to Morocco, think I'll leave it until I'm back in the UK and missing proper sand though.