Five MENAT airlines reach top 50 of The World's Most Valuable Airline Brands

Emirates remains both the World’s strongest and most valuable airline brand, with Qatar Airways at number eight, Turksih Airlines at 14, Etihad Airways at 19 and Saudia at 35.

Brand Finance chief executive David Haigh said: “Emirates continues to soar, adding 17% to its brand value this year. Brand Finance’s analysis shows that Emirates is more popular than ever– its brand equity scores for consumer factors such as familiarity, consideration, preference, satisfaction and recommendation are up across the board. Emirates’ growth this year, which builds on impressive historic trends, suggests that by 2020 it could become the first Middle Eastern brand to enter the top 100 of our ranking.” 

American Airlines has grown by a huge 69%. This is in large part due to the rebranding of US airways under the AA brand (following the merger in 2013) rather than organic brand value growth. However the rebrand contributes more than a mere re-allocation of revenues. The merged carrier can offer passengers a wider network of routes, improving brand strength and generating economies of scale for marketing investment. American is pioneering the opening up of Cuba to air travel from the US, helping to reinforce its position as more than just an incumbent. 

Qantas has also seen impressive brand value growth. Scores in the ‘consumer’ section of Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index have seen a marked increase, while perceptions among external stakeholders and staff have also improved significantly on 2015. The financial picture looks positive too with forecast revenues and margins on the up. Brand Finance Associate Director Savio D’Souza said, “Qantas has been able to maintain brand vitality in the face of some significant but important cuts that have improved profitability, brand value and Qantas’ financial sustainability.” 

In contrast Malaysia airlines has had another bad year as it continues to endure the fallout of two notorious plane crashes in 2014. Brand value is down 26% to US$462 million and it has become the weakest brand in the top 50, with an ‘A’ brand rating. Lufthansa has experienced an even more significant decline however. Brand value is down over a billion dollars following a 27% drop. Brand contagion from the Germanwings crash has been relatively limited, Lufthansa’s problems are rather more systemic. Its market share is being eroded by budget carriers, with Ryanair launching a four times daily service between Berlin and Cologne (one of Lufthansa’s key routes) in 2015.