With the upcoming MRO Middle East event in Dubai, this week’s Flight Friday looks at the progress larger Middle East operators have made when compared to 2019 flight utilization.

The nature of some of the Middle East operators is they have become very effective and efficient in being connector airlines—by carrying a large number of people through their connector hubs. However, this operational model was a hindrance after the pandemic outbreak.

The interesting take on this data is that the LCCs are the airlines racing ahead of 2019 utilization levels. These carriers operate strong networks within the region and regions close to where they are based. The low-cost success post-pandemic is not exclusive to the Middle East, as the pattern in other regions of the world is the same.

Flyadeal, Flynas, Air Arabia, and flydubai are all operating at higher levels than 2019 and have been since mid-2022. This increase is mainly due to the increase in their collective in-service fleet, which has almost doubled since the end of 2019.

Qatar Airways is the only connector carrier that is flying more flights in January 2024 than January 2019. Again, Qatar Airways is assisted with a slightly larger fleet than 2019. Virtually all the remaining connector carriers have reduced fleets today when compared to 2019, except Gulf Air, and this also shows in the flight utilization. Saudi Arabian Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, and Gulf Air are all operating between 85-95% of 2019 levels, and with aircraft being added into service—both new builds and some aircraft still to come out of storage.

Oman Air has a fleet that is 10% smaller than 2019, but still is only operating at almost 70% of 2019 levels, so there’s plenty of room for the operator to grow.

With there being a lot of new orders focused on carriers within the region, Middle East total utilization is expected to grow, but there may come a point that operators are stealing passengers off each other rather than adding more “new” passengers.

This data was put together using Aviation Week’s Tracked Aircraft Utilization tool.