Australasian charters, Iran are just two of the markets Sultan monitors for growth
AirCargo 240 archive stories
Saturday, 16 January 2016
Emirates SkyCargo has been fortunate in its senior governance team. Or maybe that’s looking at the situation from the wrong end of the telescope: Emirates has attracted, fostered, empowered – and subsequently benefited from – quite a number of talented people, writes Kelvin King.
A few have taken on the international status of Sir Tim Clark, the Aruba-born executive who became president of Emirates in 2003, helping bring the Dubai government’s vision for the airline to reality as a building block in the emirate’s drive to establish itself firmly as a global logistics hub institutes.
Clark was pleasingly to the fore with forceful comments during November’s air show at Dubai South/Al Maktoum International, a venue that became something of a showcase for Emirates and its new SkyCentral cargo complex.
Another figure of prime status was with him during both the air show and the opening of SkyCentral: Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice president cargo.
Sultan’s professional and personal standing was evident in the mutual respect shown by him and HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of both EK as an airline and of the greater Emirates group, during the low key, almost-understated opening of SkyCentral.
The rather classy avoidance of blowing trumpets is an Emirates hallmark and Sultan is very much in line with this ethos, getting on with the job rather than talking about it.
But he does talk with the industry – enthusiastically and credibly.
When AirCargo Asia-Pacific met up with him in Sydney in November he’d just spent a few days catching up with shippers, customs brokers and forwarders, including hosting some at the Emirates Melbourne Cup.
Having a good time, perhaps, we asked? Certainly, he agreed but it was also very good business. “It was an opportunity to meet customers in a relaxed mood, to get a better understanding of their needs and what we could do better.
“I found it very useful last year and it has been the same this year.”
Australia continued to be “a key market” for Emirates SkyCargo, Sultan stressed, pointing to the committing of a further freighter on Australian routes and the healthy belly-hold traffic both inbound and out.
“We have a wide range of options here and we’re putting them to good effect.”
Not just to Dubai, of course, he added.
“We’ve got a freighter going to Hong Kong, doing well. We’ll watch the horizons and respond to them as appropriate.”
And a lot of freight in both directions from Australasia is hubbing in Dubai to other points on the carrier’s network, through both Dubai International and Dubai South.
Qatar Airways’ decision to boost services into Australian ports and the up-gauging of Etihad operations through Brisbane were just market factors to be kept in in mind, said Sultan. Emirates did not see them as eroding its own operations.
“Competition is always there but it usually increases demand. It’s easy to paint a gloomy picture of the future but we prefer to look for new opportunities.”
As an example of such opportunities he points to Hanoi where it became evident there was an opening for prawns and fish to be hauled to world markets. Emirates has obliged with a freighter.
Emirates SkyCargo is also undertaking a fair bit of charter work in Australasia, he noted, with horses into and out of both Australia and NZ a good source of ongoing business.
NZ is seen as having good potential not only for horses but also perishables such as meat, high-end fish and other commodities, heading for China, the Middle East and beyond. Powdered milk is also doing well out of NZ and fresh milk is evolving steadily.
“The demand out of NZ seems to be picking up.”
Free trade agreements in the region can only drive more cargo, Sultan commented. “As tariffs and regulations change we’re seeing a lot more scope.” It required careful monitoring in tandem with shippers and others in the supply chain.
That is particularly so with TPP, again with an eye to opportunities.
Other openings, too, such as Iran restrictions easing. “We used to transport meat from Australia and NZ to Iran. We’re monitoring the situation and will be ready to move when Iran opens up.
“There’s a big void to fill.”
Talking with Nabil Sultan – whether in Australia in (very) smart casual gear, in Dubai wearing an executive dishdasha and keffiyeh or Europe in a chic suit – one gets a rather odd sense of inspiration…not only does he know what he’s talking about but he believes in it and wants you to as well.
Emirates SkyCargo will continue its freighter emphasis on the B777 family but the two leased (in EK livery) B744-ERFs are proving very useful on certain routes and for non-standard freight charter, reported Sultan. Both are noseloaders.
Sultan sees Emirates’ path forwards as one of steady growth. This was evident at the opening of SkyCentral, Dubai South when he explained the facility was designed specifically to be extended. Its cargo capacity is currently 2.3 million tonnes and expansion is assured by the allocation of a large land area.
“We’re already working on the next phase,” he said. “We will gradually grow the infrastructure.”
• In our February issue we’ll be looking at the unique bonded virtual corridor – a customs-free zone with multiple innovative aspects – created by Emirates SkyCargo and partners between Dubai International Airport and the new freighter hub at Dubai South. And watch for updates on Emirates SkyCentral in our daily e-news. We’ll have further comments from Nabil Sultan in our February issue, too, dealing with topics such as pharma, wildlife and lithium ion batteries.
Australasian charters, Iran are just two of the markets Sultan monitors for growth
AirCargo 240 archive stories
Saturday, 16 January 2016
Emirates SkyCargo has been fortunate in its senior governance team. Or maybe that’s looking at the situation from the wrong end of the telescope: Emirates has attracted, fostered, empowered – and subsequently benefited from – quite a number of talented people, writes Kelvin King.
A few have taken on the international status of Sir Tim Clark, the Aruba-born executive who became president of Emirates in 2003, helping bring the Dubai government’s vision for the airline to reality as a building block in the emirate’s drive to establish itself firmly as a global logistics hub institutes.
Clark was pleasingly to the fore with forceful comments during November’s air show at Dubai South/Al Maktoum International, a venue that became something of a showcase for Emirates and its new SkyCentral cargo complex.
Another figure of prime status was with him during both the air show and the opening of SkyCentral: Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice president cargo.
Sultan’s professional and personal standing was evident in the mutual respect shown by him and HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of both EK as an airline and of the greater Emirates group, during the low key, almost-understated opening of SkyCentral.
The rather classy avoidance of blowing trumpets is an Emirates hallmark and Sultan is very much in line with this ethos, getting on with the job rather than talking about it.
But he does talk with the industry – enthusiastically and credibly.
When AirCargo Asia-Pacific met up with him in Sydney in November he’d just spent a few days catching up with shippers, customs brokers and forwarders, including hosting some at the Emirates Melbourne Cup.
Having a good time, perhaps, we asked? Certainly, he agreed but it was also very good business. “It was an opportunity to meet customers in a relaxed mood, to get a better understanding of their needs and what we could do better.
“I found it very useful last year and it has been the same this year.”
Australia continued to be “a key market” for Emirates SkyCargo, Sultan stressed, pointing to the committing of a further freighter on Australian routes and the healthy belly-hold traffic both inbound and out.
“We have a wide range of options here and we’re putting them to good effect.”
Not just to Dubai, of course, he added.
“We’ve got a freighter going to Hong Kong, doing well. We’ll watch the horizons and respond to them as appropriate.”
And a lot of freight in both directions from Australasia is hubbing in Dubai to other points on the carrier’s network, through both Dubai International and Dubai South.
Qatar Airways’ decision to boost services into Australian ports and the up-gauging of Etihad operations through Brisbane were just market factors to be kept in in mind, said Sultan. Emirates did not see them as eroding its own operations.
“Competition is always there but it usually increases demand. It’s easy to paint a gloomy picture of the future but we prefer to look for new opportunities.”
As an example of such opportunities he points to Hanoi where it became evident there was an opening for prawns and fish to be hauled to world markets. Emirates has obliged with a freighter.
Emirates SkyCargo is also undertaking a fair bit of charter work in Australasia, he noted, with horses into and out of both Australia and NZ a good source of ongoing business.
NZ is seen as having good potential not only for horses but also perishables such as meat, high-end fish and other commodities, heading for China, the Middle East and beyond. Powdered milk is also doing well out of NZ and fresh milk is evolving steadily.
“The demand out of NZ seems to be picking up.”
Free trade agreements in the region can only drive more cargo, Sultan commented. “As tariffs and regulations change we’re seeing a lot more scope.” It required careful monitoring in tandem with shippers and others in the supply chain.
That is particularly so with TPP, again with an eye to opportunities.
Other openings, too, such as Iran restrictions easing. “We used to transport meat from Australia and NZ to Iran. We’re monitoring the situation and will be ready to move when Iran opens up.
“There’s a big void to fill.”
Talking with Nabil Sultan – whether in Australia in (very) smart casual gear, in Dubai wearing an executive dishdasha and keffiyeh or Europe in a chic suit – one gets a rather odd sense of inspiration…not only does he know what he’s talking about but he believes in it and wants you to as well.
Emirates SkyCargo will continue its freighter emphasis on the B777 family but the two leased (in EK livery) B744-ERFs are proving very useful on certain routes and for non-standard freight charter, reported Sultan. Both are noseloaders.
Sultan sees Emirates’ path forwards as one of steady growth. This was evident at the opening of SkyCentral, Dubai South when he explained the facility was designed specifically to be extended. Its cargo capacity is currently 2.3 million tonnes and expansion is assured by the allocation of a large land area.
“We’re already working on the next phase,” he said. “We will gradually grow the infrastructure.”
• In our February issue we’ll be looking at the unique bonded virtual corridor – a customs-free zone with multiple innovative aspects – created by Emirates SkyCargo and partners between Dubai International Airport and the new freighter hub at Dubai South. And watch for updates on Emirates SkyCentral in our daily e-news. We’ll have further comments from Nabil Sultan in our February issue, too, dealing with topics such as pharma, wildlife and lithium ion batteries.
That is particularly so with TPP, again with an eye to opportunities.
