Emirates wings to Indian aviation
In support of India’s goal to be the world’s third largest aviation market by 2020, Ahmed Khoory, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for West Asia & Indian Ocean, Emirates Airline, says that with increased capacity, the airline can contribute
QTo what would you contribute the success of Emirates as an airline?
The success of Emirates, so far, has been a sum total of many attributes. We invest strategically in building our brand and it is reflected in everything that we do. We have differentiated the Emirates brand not only through our marketing and sponsorships initiatives, but also through our competitive combination of quality products and services, and technologydriven customer initiatives that our teams deliver everyday both on the ground and on board. Emirates continues to add new routes and destinations, connecting more people with more places globally.
The next attribute is having a good product - this means flying young and modern aircraft that are efficient to operate, and kitting it out with the latest on board features to ensure our customers get the best value and experience. It means investing continually in product enhancements to stay ahead of what our customers expect – not just our airport lounges, on board seats and cabin ambience, but also the 'softer' aspects such as service, amenity kit bags, fine wines and spirits, quality food prepared by gourmet chefs, free Wi-Fi, Live TV on board, etc.
The A380 has played a key part in building our brand but it certainly isn’t the whole story. We only received our first A380 seven years ago and the airline has been in operation for 30 years now. We’ve been painstakingly building the brand and focusing on our capabilities for years. From the outset, we behaved differently, and prioritised not only expansion, but also innovation, product quality and service standards. Last but not least, Emirates’ workforce reflects a diverse mix of global talent. We recruit and retain the best people from around the world, bringing together the best insights and practices from to contribute to our success.
QHow has the opening of Concourse D at Dubai International Airport affected operations?
Concourse D has given us some relief and has helped us address our growing capacity constraints. We are gradually taking over Concourse C, refurbishing it along the way, to derive every last bit of efficiency from our operations.
QEtihad has an alliance with Jet Airways, is Emirates also looking at a similar alliance with any Indian airline or do you want
We strategically expanded our airline partnerships and existing agreements to offer our customers even more flexibility and seamless connections through our partner airlines. The Emirates’ portfolio of airline partnerships grew to 20 code- share partners and over 150 interline partners. Emirates business model is to grow our global network organically and through mutually beneficial commercial cooperation through code share and interline partnerships.
QIndia plans to reopen talks to in increasing bilateral, how do you see that affecting your business?
As a long-term strategic partner for India, Emirates is committed to future investment and expansion in the market in support of the country’s goal to be the world’s third largest aviation market by 2020. However, we are unable to add capacity as our entitlements are now fully utilised. In fact, the airlines of both sides are now fully using the entitlements of 65,200 weekly seats agreed in February 2014 and are keen to increase operations further. With seat factors for all airlines well in excess of 80 per cent (a level at which traffic gets turned away for lack of seats) and continuing strong traffic growth trends, there is compelling justification under the guidelines of the Indian National Civil Aviation Policy 2016, to hold bilateral talks soon to increase the entitlements on the route.
As highlighted in the report issued by the National Council of Applied Economic Research ( NCAER) in November 2015, Emirates’ operations support more than 86,000 jobs across India and contribute $848 million annually to the In-
With seat factors for all airlines well in excess of 80 per cent and continuing guidelines of the Indian National Civil Aviation Policy 2016, to hold bilateral talks soon to increase the entitlements on the route. Ahmed Khoory Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for West Asia & Indian Ocean Emirates Airline
dian economy. We are confident that with increased capacity, we can contribute even more to India’s economic growth and development.
QIn February, more than 2,000 people signed a petition call and Coimbatore. Are you looking to tap into other Indian markets?
Looking at the expanse of Emirates’ network and with demand for air travel expected to double in the next five to 10 years in India, Emirates is well positioned to bring a growing number of tourists and business travellers into the country, further enabling trade and investment. Over the next four years, traffic will need to grow by 70 per cent to reach India’s 2020 growth target of 85 million international passengers, and we hope to agree to an increase in our capacity entitlement so that we can support this goal.