Competition between region’s aviation giants turns into a two-way race

Persuading even vaccinated passengers to take to the skies for long-haul travel will not be easy for an aviation sector that has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis. As airlines retrench, led by Etihad, strategies are having to be rethought and consolidation might be unavoidable for an industry that built its extraordinary growth on a global travel boom that has gone into reverse this year.