BT ARCHIVE

The December/January issue looked at the Gulf states’ strategy for building their flight hub status

A look back to 2003, when the Gulf states were launching their bid to lure passengers to the region

THE GULF STATES

were continuing their efforts to woo passengers back to the region following the acquisition of longrange Boeing 747-400s by some European and Asian airlines in the late 1980s, which had put the brakes on refuelling stops in the likes of Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

As our consumer editor Alex McWhirter reported, new airlines, aircraft and upgraded airports were part of the strategy. Alex said at the time, “It’s hard to see how the Gulf carriers can fail.” Indeed, Emirates London Heathrow to Dubai is now the third most lucrative flight in the world.

Speaking of which, the Gulf state of Qatar also made an appearance in the issue as we focused on its “fiercely competitive corporate scene” and construction boom. Business in the country had just returned to normal following the Iraq War.

Elsewhere, in a feature on how to cope with stress, we highlighted some ways to overcome professional burnout, which was endemic at the time (and probably still is), with 20 per cent of workers reporting that they felt stressed or extremely stressed by work. Way before apps such as Headspace came on the scene, we advised, “Learn how to meditate, it’s portable and you can do it while you are in transit from one location to another.”