Emirates expands Greek network with Aegean amid market push

Emirates airline has signed a deal with Greece that includes a codeshare with national carrier Aegean, expanding access to popular destinations such as Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes.

The deal is the cherry on top of a successful outreach mission for the Greek National Tourism Organization at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai this week, Greek newspaper To Vima reports.

Flydubai, which will already be operating flights to Mykonos, Santorini, and Corfu this season, is looking at introducing new routes by next year and potentially operating off-season flights.

Qatar Airways is adding a route to the port city of Thessaloniki and mulling a 15% increase in seats on its long-haul flight from Australia to Athens. 

Emirates’ Clark warns Trump tariffs threaten aviation industry

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark, who has run the Middle East’s biggest airline for two decades, says the UAE carrier can handle the costs of new U.S. tariffs.

Still, Clark told CNBC in an interview that the Trump administration’s “trade reset” could disrupt global commerce, with China’s tariffs on U.S. aerospace firms potentially raising costs for Emirates’ wide-body fleet.

“Business models like Emirates, given the international scope of what it does, the strength of what it does, will be able to ride this particular wave,” he said.

Clark said the aviation industry, however, remains in “uncharted territory” as U.S. tariffs are expected to drive up airline costs. “Right now, we are in troubled times,” he said.

The Daily Circuit: Thiel co-invests with PIF + ADIA gas deal

👋 Hello from the Middle East!

In the Daily Circuit today, we’re looking at ADIA’s $1 billion gas deal, Arabian Drilling’s new offshore platform, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark’s dark view of how U.S. tariffs will affect the aviation industry, and the UAE’s free-trade pact in Africa. But first, the PIF co-invests in a new company with Peter Thiel.

Tech investor Peter Thiel is teaming up with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and a Qatari lender to back a new business-to-business commerce platform, starting with a combined sum of $110 million.

Thiel, a co-founder of data software giant Palantir Technologies and PayPal, will invest in SILQ Group through his Valar Ventures unit, according to a statement issued today.

The $925 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund will participate through its Sanabil Investments subsidiary, joining Valar in a group that also includes Qatar Development Bank.

SILQ was formed through a merger between the Riyadh-based online marketplace Sary and ShopUp, Bangladesh’s largest business-to-business commerce platform.

With the funds from Thiel, Sanabil and Qatar, the merged company plans to target markets across the Middle East and Asia, and raise more money in 2027 through an IPO.

“Saudi Arabia and the Gulf represent one of the most exciting economic stories in the world today,” James Fitzgerald, Founding Partner at Valar Ventures, said in the statement. “This merger reflects a bold vision to place these markets at the center of a new commercial ecosystem connecting with South Asia.”

Welcome to the Daily Circuit. Kindly let us know your thoughts and feedback by replying to this newsletter or emailing us at [email protected].

Global cooperation and advanced technology are the themes underlining this week’s World Crisis and Emergency Management Summit in Abu Dhabi. As patron of the two-day conference, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE National Security Adviser described the UAE’s efforts to address a range of international crises. “Our strategic deployment of artificial intelligence and cutting-edge innovations places us at the forefront of leveraging technology to enhance emergency preparedness and response systems,” he said in a statement. Sheikh Tahnoon has led the country’s AI partnerships with Microsoft and other U.S. companies as Chairman of top state-owned businesses including G42, MGX, International Holding Co. and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. 

TROUBLED TIMES

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark, who has run the Middle East’s biggest airline for two decades, says the UAE carrier can handle the costs of new U.S. tariffs. Still, Clark told CNBC in an interview that the Trump administration’s “trade reset” could disrupt global commerce, with China’s tariffs on U.S. aerospace firms potentially raising costs for Emirates’ wide-body fleet. “Business models like Emirates, given the international scope of what it does, the strength of what it does, will be able to ride this particular wave,” he said. Clark said the aviation industry, however, remains in “uncharted territory” as U.S. tariffs are expected to drive up airline costs. “Right now, we are in troubled times,” he said. 

📷 Photo of the Day

The UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai, which opens April 13 and will continue through October, was formally presented today at a press conference in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates to upgrade aircraft as Boeing deliveries remain stalled

Waiting impatiently on the tarmac for troubled Boeing to deliver its long-delayed 777X aircraft, Dubai’s Emirates airline plans to spend $5 billion on upgrading its current stock.

Emirates President Tim Clark outlined the UAE carrier’s 2025 growth plans on Wednesday and told reporters that refitting 220 planes was critical to maintaining the airline’s standing among the best in the industry.

“We have no choice,” Clark said, ticking off the names of competing airlines that are upgrading their fleets. He said Emirates is not optimistic about the Boeing 777X deliveries arriving as scheduled for this coming October.

While Boeing struggles, industry-leading Airbus is pushing for a closer relationship with the UAE, rolling out plans to manufacture components and establish a regional maintenance hub in Abu Dhabi for its A400M military transport aircraft.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Qatar Airways is addressing renewed demand from Syria by increasing the frequency of flights to Damascus as the country emerges from more than a decade of civil war, Bloomberg reports.

Most airlines halted flights to the Syrian capital while violence flared across the country. Qatar Airways was the first national carrier to relaunch flights to Beirut after a cease fire was reached between Israel and Lebanon in November.

Emirates President Tim Clark says Boeing crisis is far from over

Emirates President Tim Clark says in a round of interviews that the crisis at Boeing is far from over and the U.S. planemaker needs to do more to address customer concerns.

For starters, he says Emirates should receive billions in compensation for delays in the development of Boeing’s latest 777 jet, Arab News reports.

Clark’s concerns carry clout given that his airline is the biggest buyer of both Boeing and Airbus widebody aircraft.

“For me, this will be a five-year hiatus starting from now,” Clark said in an interview with Bloomberg.

As a result of the manufacturing issues and delays on new widebody aircraft at the planemaker, Emirates is putting more of its Boeing 777 aircraft through an extensive retrofit program, Clark said.

That has raised the cost of the program to about $3.5 billion from previously $2 billion, he said.

Clark also advised that Boeing pick a strong CEO grounded in engineering and business to replace the departing Dave Calhoun.

The Emirates chief also said he’s certain that airfares are going up. “Unfortunately, but that’s the way it is,” he told CNBC.