Article in AW&ST about Europe vs Emirates and gang.

Basically what I read is this, the European legacy carriers lost their short haul market to low cost carriers. Lost it.

Now the gulf state carriers are killing them on the lucrative long-haul markets thanks possibly to an open skies agreement that backfired allowing Emirates as many flights into the U.K. as they wish, also because the quality of the service is far greater and of course the possibility of illegal state-aid, which is being litigated but may not be won, from inexhaustible oil resources.

Add one other thing, the EU is funding the expansion of Emirates which wasn't the intent of their export credit guarantees BUT if you end them they could stop buying Airbuses. So the EU must chose between its airlines and Airbus.

The solution may be of course to make short-haul profitable again which would grant more pricing flexibility on long-haul operations. The legacy carriers are "suffering today because, unlike Emirates, they cannot sustain lower long-haul fares- they need high yields to compensate for losses in the short-haul sector."

One consultant said the legacy carriers should strengthen their existing alliances "by enhancing offers for business travelers, such as more attractive frequent-flier programs and broader networks. He recommends that carriers also look at boosting long-haul business-class cabins at the expense of economy class in order to pick up as much of the intercontinental market as possible in the current upturn."