Emirates Voted Cargo Airline of the Year Again

Dubai, UAE, May 3rd 2009 – Emirates SkyCargo has added four highly coveted accolades to its impressive trophy collection in the last week.

Emirates’ cargo division won the premier prize at the prestigious Cargo Airline of the Year Awards, one of the leading events in the cargo industry calendar, hosted by Air Cargo News (ACN) in London.
The Dubai-based inter-continental carrier, which last won the ACN Cargo Airline of the Year in 2001, was also voted Best All-Cargo Airline and, for an incredible 21st successive year, Best Middle East Cargo Airline.

It also took the prize for Best Air Cargo Carrier – Middle East in the 2009 Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards (AFSCAs) in Hong Kong. This is the 14th consecutive year that Emirates SkyCargo has won this award. Organised by Cargonews Asia, the AFSCAs are widely regarded as the most authoritative for the industry in Asia.

Winners must meet the strict criteria, such as offering variety and usefulness of cargo product range, clearly set performance standards, satisfactory and timely resolution of problems, size and reach of international network, effective and user-friendly IT system, and damage-free cargo handling, and have large-scale public support.

Ram Menen, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, who was in London to accept the three awards there, said: “Emirates SkyCargo is truly honoured to have received these incredible accolades from our partners in the international cargo community. This recognition once again, coming at such a challenging time for everyone in our industry, provides the best possible acknowledgement of our continued investment and commitment to providing a world-class cargo operation.”

Emirates SkyCargo won the awards at a time of continued development across its operation, with the recent arrival of its first Boeing 777F, joining its freighter fleet of seven Boeing 747-400F aircraft. Emirates SkyCargo will take delivery of a second Boeing 777F – the quietest and most fuel efficient freighter in the sky today – later this year, with a further two of the type on order.

Later this year, Luanda and Durban will become the 17th and 18th destinations on Emirates SkyCargo’s African network, served with belly-hold capacity in Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Emirates SkyCargo currently serves a global route network of 100 destinations in 60 countries, with a fleet of 133 aircraft (including eight freighters).

Emirates SkyCargo Welcomes New-Generation Freighter into Fleet

Dubai, UAE, 31st March 2009 – Emirates SkyCargo’s first Boeing 777 Freighter has arrived in Dubai after completing its inaugural commercial flight from Hong Kong.

The carrier took delivery of the new-generation freighter at Boeing’s Everett, Washington facility on the weekend. From there it went directly to Hong Kong, still one of the carrier’s most robust routes, where it was loaded with cargo bound for Dubai and beyond.

The Boeing 777F, with its range and environmental advantages over other freighters in the market, will play an integral role in Emirates’ freighter fleet. It boasts the longest range capability of all twin engine jets, able to fly non-stop between Dubai and major cargo centres such as Frankfurt and Hong Kong with a full 103-tonne payload.

Renowned for its fuel efficiency – the Boeing 777F uses less fuel per tonne of cargo than other freighters available, significantly reducing the fuel bill – it is also the quietest freighter flying today (QC2 compliant).

The new aircraft will complement Emirates existing fleet of Boeing 777 passenger aircraft. This year, the airline will become the largest Boeing 777 operator in the world, already operating more than 70. Sixty five per cent of all Emirates SkyCargo traffic travels in the belly of its wide-bodied passenger aircraft.

Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, said, “This freighter is part of our long-term investment for Emirates SkyCargo.”

He acknowledged that while the air cargo industry was currently experiencing its toughest period since the beginning of the jet age, world air cargo traffic was still forecast to triple over the next 20 years, and said that Emirates needed to be prepared for when these predicted growth levels returned.

“In the last 15 years a tremendous amount of work has gone into developing the science of supply chain management. Inventory and logistics management are two of the most critical elements of the supply chain and with globalisation of manufacturing and of the marketplace, reliability of transport plays a very important role. Just-in-time and vendor managed inventory is what creates a very cost efficient supply chain with time becoming a crucial factor.

“Emirates has opted for these brand new, super-efficient aircraft to ensure we are best placed to serve the industry’s requirements in the long term. Freighters have a greater role in today’s supply chain – transporting cargo directly from production to consumption.”

Emirates SkyCargo will take delivery of another Boeing 777F later this year, with a further two on order

Emirates SkyCargo Judged Best Airline by Forwarders

Dubai, UAE, 25th March 2009 – Emirates SkyCargo has taken the coveted top spot in the annual Air Cargo Excellence survey, moving up two spots from last year and beating cargo heavyweights Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines who finished second and third respectively.

The survey, conducted by the US based Air Cargo World, asks customers of the airlines to evaluate each carrier in four categories – value, IT, customer service and performance.

In the value category, judged on the competitiveness of the carrier’s rates and its value-added programmes, Emirates SkyCargo scored a full six points clear of the carrier in second place, the biggest gap in any of the categories.

Emirates also scored highly in the IT category where forwarders recognized the efficiencies afforded to them by the SkyChain system that Emirates tailors specifically to the requirements of each customer. SkyChain 3.0 was recently launched throughout the airline’s operations, replacing Skylog which was used as the ground handling system by Emirates SkyCargo.

Since it launched the e-freight initiative in November, Emirates SkyCargo has become the leading airline worldwide in terms of the number of e-freight consignments carried each week. It is estimated that e-freight saves the industry US$4.9 billion annually through reduced inventories and document processing cost savings.

The categories of customer service and performance were adjudicated on how carriers fulfil contractual agreements, accomplish scheduled transit times, handle claims with expedience, solve problems in a prompt and courteous manner, and, of course, a professional and knowledgeable sales force.

Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, said: "To come out on top of the Air Cargo Excellence survey is a real honour for Emirates SkyCargo, not the least because we are all judged by users of our services. This accolade is a tremendous achievement for all of our staff.

“Emirates SkyCargo invested significantly in our facilities in 2008, enabling us to provide an even better service to our customers. We are now truly a 21st century entity with a 21st century systems and operations driving our business.”

The carrier’s new hub, the 1.2m-tonne-per-year capacity Cargo Mega Terminal, is acknowledged by the industry as one of the most modern and efficient cargo terminals in the world. Following its opening in February 2008, Emirates SkyCargo’s service failure rates were reduced to almost zero.

Full results of the Air Cargo Excellence survey can be found at: http://www.aircargoworld.com/features/0309_1.htm

Dnata Cargo goes all chocolatey for Mother’s Day

Dubai, U.A.E., 19th March, 2009 – Mothers in the UAE are set to celebrate their special day with more chocolate than ever before after Dnata Cargo handled its largest single shipment of the sweet treat.

A whopping 115 tonnes of chocolate, with a value of AED 1.3 million, was flown into Dubai on a special B747 charter from East London in South Africa last week.

Jean Pierre De Pauw, Divisional Senior Vice President, Dnata Cargo, said: “We may be experiencing an economic downturn, but seeing a company importing a plane load of chocolates indicates that people in the UAE still have a strong desire to celebrate when they can.”

Because of the already soaring daytime temperatures in Dubai, Dnata Cargo wrapped the delicate cargo in thermal blankets for its journey from the aircraft to the terminal.

“Chocolate is very sensitive to heat so it was vital that Dnata Cargo ensured as consistent a temperature as possible during the offloading of the cargo from the aircraft and subsequent transfer to the cargo terminal,” explained Jean Pierre.

“Thanks to our special thermal blankets we can be confident that it won’t be the chocolate that will be melting on Mother’s Day.”

Dnata Cargo Scoops a Silver in Industry Advertising Awards

Dubai, U.A.E., 2nd March 2009 – Dnata Cargo has been a awarded a Silver for its ‘humorous’ and ‘clever’ cargo advert in the recent Air Transport World 2009 Advertising Awards held in Washington DC, USA.

Now in its 35th year, the AdAwards, one of the global airline industry's most coveted accolades, celebrate excellence in advertising in the airline industry. Submissions are judged by Air Transport World readers worldwide, including airline industry decision makers such as CEOs and Chairmen, participating online.

Dnata Cargo’s ad was given the Silver Ad Award in the Cargo Services Category after being judged on a scale of 1 to 10 by a readership of industry peers. According to the judges, Dnata’s ad was an example of a very simple concept that uses humor to make a point. The simple headline, simple use of copy and the graphic work well to illustrate the portfolio of services Dnata Cargo offers its customers. Judges described the creative as “humorous, innovative, cute, eye-catching, clever, and genuine”.

Ismail Ali Albanna, Executive Vice President, Dnata, who was in Washington to receive the award, said: “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of Dnata. To be recognised in this way by our industry peers is really satisfying. It is a clear endorsement of our advertising strategy and highlights that our campaign is achieving one of its objectives – to get Dnata Cargo noticed and talked about.”