EgyptAir launches a low-cost carrier in the spring, while Air Arabia and Jazeera Airways are the two front-runners. Both have made a favourable early impression, showing that the domestic appetite for affordable travel is strong, even in one of the world's most revenue-rich regions.
Not all are convinced that low-cost airlines can operate successfully in the Middle East however. This week Akbar al Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways dismissed their viability.
Air Arabia and Jazeera have mirrored the successful low-cost model in Europe, flying only short-haul on economical A320 aircraft, often to secondary airports, and keeping a tight rein on costs through internet bookings.
The emerging low-cost industry is a predictable by-product of the overall boom in the Middle East, which is the fastest growing aviation market globally. The number of flights to and from the Middle East in July was 16 per cent higher than last year.
Whether by luck or judgement, the plethora of primary and secondary airports stretching from Egypt to Oman - the UAE alone has 35, six of which are international - means that half the jigsaw is already in place for the low-cost start-ups. And with deliveries of new aircraft rarely a problem in this energy-swimming region, the industry is poised for take off.
Saudi Arabia is looking to start two new low-cost airlines, Sama and NAS, which initially would fly domestically. Saudis love to travel and spend nearly SR60 billion ($16 billion) annually on domestic and international travel and tourism.
According to Euromonitor: "This small group of low-cost carriers is the just the beginning of the low cost trend in the Middle East, with more entrants likely over the next five years."
Government policies on the ground are sure to fuel the low-cost impetus. Dubai, for example, wants 15 million visitors a year by 2010 and up to 200,000 visitors a day coming through Dubailand's doors. Even Emirates might struggle to carry that many.
RAPID ASCENT
Air Arabia's network rises to 29 destinations in November, with the start of new services between Sharjah (its hub) and Chennai. Not bad, for an airline which launched in October 2003.
The airline began flights to Tehran this year and currently flies to 15 cities in the Middle East, with its largest representation in Egypt (Alexandria, Assiut and Luxor) and Saudi Arabia (Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh).
The two drawbacks for arriving passengers is that Sharjah Airport is undergoing a massive facelift and even on a good day - and there aren't many of those, given the increasingly clogged highways - it's still a minimum half-hour drive to more entertainment-friendly Dubai.
Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways, the first privately owned airline in the Middle East, has flown more than 300,000 passengers in its first year. It now flies to 13 destinations, including Aleppo (Syria), Damascus and Dubai - and recently resuming flights to Beirut. The airline hasn't been afraid to adopt some Ryanair-style discounting, posting fares of £9 to all destinations last week to celebrate it's first birthday.
Page 2: Road and rail travel in the Middle East, future prospects and how airfares compare
SURFACE TRAVEL
For all the Middle East's sprawling size, it is surprising how many cities and countries are in close proximity, particularly when you throw into the equation cheap petrol and decent highways. It might be many years before we see budget European-esque shuttles between the major cities, if at all.
Within two years, air-conditioned international bus services are to be rolled out between Dubai, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, which will be followed by services to Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Syria in 2009.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are separated by an hour's drive on a fast highway and the smooth road between Dubai and Muscat, a journey which can be easily accomplished within four hours, is also excellent.
Driving around mountainous Oman is surprisingly not a hardship. The main Muscat-Salalah highway will take you around eight hours along vehicle-friendly surfaces, where you can drive at up to 180 kms/hour after crossing radar-studded Nizwa. It's always best to fill up the tank when you can though - some pumps are 200 kilometres apart.
Plans were recently released for an express train service connecting Bahrain and Qatar which ultimately, will also extend to the UAE. The trains will zip along at up to 500 kms/hour. Saudi Arabia is laying 950 kilometres of new track between Riyadh and Jeddah and another 115-kilometre line between Dammam and Jubail, as well as upgrading the existing Riyadh-Dammam rail link.
Work on Dubai's Metro, due to be completed by 2009, is continuing apace, but such is the volume of traffic that the city could desperately do with it now.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
Few markets, except for Saudi Arabia, have significant domestic traffic, meaning the bulk of the low-cost traffic has been tied up in short-break leisure trips, which is seasonal (October to May), and low-income expats returning home. Sustaining revenues and schedules during the hot summers is always going to be challenging - not to mention the bigger question of economic viability while all the major scheduled carriers continue to make hay while the Gulf sun shines.
But given the region's red-hot economies and demand for tourism keeps going skywards, it's unlikely to stem the low-cost tide.
Rumours abound that no-frills airline easyJet will be next to make a low cost entrance, which would dovetail with its plans for six easyGroup hotels in Dubai. EasyJet recently expanded its network to Marrakesh and Istanbul, but both cities are still within the four-hour flying limit which governs easyJet's aircraft flight rotations.
A spokeswoman for easyJet did nothing, however, to deny that easyGroup is talking to businesses in the Middle East with a view to franchising out the "easy" brand name and creating a start-up airline based in the region. EasyJet from Dubai to Jeddah by 2010?
HOW AIR FARES COMPARE
Etihad Airways: Abu Dhabi-Cairo AED 1,540 (£220)
Emirates: Dubai-Cairo AED 2,580 (£368)
Jazeera Airways: Kuwait-Alexandria KD 105 (£190)
Air Arabia: Sharjah-Alexandria AED 1,067 (£152)
Emirates: Dubai-Kuwait AED 3,150 (£450)
Etihad Airways: Abu Dhabi-Kuwait AED 1,440 (£205)
Jazeera Airways: Dubai-Kuwait AED 804 (£114)
Air Arabia: Sharjah-Kuwait AED 730 (£104)
Prices based on internet return economy fares travelling early December
