Fully prepared at Emirates
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Posted Date: 24/09/2008
Issue: Airline Handling International November 2008
Publication: Airline Handling International
AHI Can we talk through the implications of this new arrival from the airline's perspective and how you have prepared for a flood of passengers, baggage and cargo? Presumably there are some silver linings to the delays?
RP&WR Emirates was extremely pleased to take delivery of its first A380 on July 28, 2008. It is the flagship of our fleet and we have made significant enhancements to many of the products and services our customers see onboard. As you must have already seen, the entry of the A380 into our fleet and service was seamless as we were fully-equipped to handle the aircraft. In fact, Dnata began to receive the necessary equipment more than three years back. The Dubai International Airport, Dnata and Emirates Airport Services were fully ready in terms of ground services. Everybody was fully aligned with what needed to be done – we had participated in a number of industry initiatives including meeting with most of our peers and stakeholders in Toulouse. We have used the A380’s arrival as a catalyst to change processes across all our fleet; for example we have introduced new processes worldwide such as zonal boarding.
AHI Having undertaken your own analysis of A380 implications, how have you shared this knowledge with third party providers? Have you selected handlers at destination airports over the last couple of years with the ability to handle the A380 in mind? Presumably this goes for the selection of handlers with appropriate GSE too?
RP&WR Yes, we have worked closely with our ground handling suppliers and have deliberately chosen to work with handlers who have shown a commitment to working with this aircraft and to our high customer service standards and requirements.
AHI In your home market, do you work with Dnata to introduce new processes, new technologies, new strategies prior to talking to third party providers about new methods at destination airports or is your relationship with Dnata strictly arm's length and commercial?
RP&WR In Dubai, Dnata supplies all below the wing services and cabin cleaning whilst Emirates does the above wing handling. Being part of the Emirates Group, both Emirates and Dnata are sister companies and therefore have an excellent proactive, working relationship, although handled on a commercial basis.
AHI Is there any correlation between Dnata's corporate acquisition strategy (that is buying other handling companies) and the handling needs of the airline? To what extent do you influence group acquisition decisions?
RP&WR Both Emirates and Dnata are part of the same group and will always assist each other where it is commercially appropriate. However, at the end of the day, Dnata is an independent commercial entity and free to set its own acquisition strategy. Emirates is equally independent and has the ability to select whichever handling agent it uses.
AHI Are airlines and airports in the Middle East tending to bypass kiosks for passenger check-in and moving straight to online passenger check- in? What is Emirates' philosophy? Are you pursuing self-service check-in using bespoke kiosks, are you interested in the CUSS environment or are you expecting check-in to become extremely lean and streamlined?
RP&WR Yes, this tendency to bypass kiosks and move straight to passenger online check-in is noticeable here in Dubai. In our new dedicated terminal, T3 at Dubai International Airport, set to open later this year, passengers will be wowed by the number of kiosks and express check-in facilities over and above the large number of traditional check-in counters. Emirates has launched online check-in with 2D barcoded boarding cards which can be printed at home.
AHI In terms of third party handlers at destination airports, how do you deal with service levels? Is a contract with a service level annex enough? Do you put in place your own staff to ensure safety and quality? Are the main concerns in relation to the ramp? What quality recording and notification methods do you use to ensure ramp handling remains as you would expect?
RP&WR As you will expect with Emirates, service is very important to us and there is a pre-condition that all our handling agents sign up to our service level agreement. In addition, Emirates maintains its own staff at all stations to ensure we have high level of control over the passenger and ground handling process and the ability to interact directly with our customers, as and when required. We also only work with reputable ground handlers who have a proven ability to deliver a quality service.
AHI Do you deal with cargo handling procurement too? If so, to what extent does passenger and cargo handling dovetail? Do you go out to tender for both simultaneously or are they two different animals?
RP&WR Yes, Emirates cargo is an integral part of the product we offer through our Emirates SkyCargo division, and is negotiated in conjunction with our ramp and passenger agreements. This is because Emirates flies a majority of its cargo in the belly hold of passenger aircraft despite operating a dedicated fleet of 10 freighters. We also have Boeing 777Fs and 747-8Fs on order.
AHI Do you have any guiding principles when procuring ground handling services? Do you expect multinational network handlers to be better value for money? Do you believe airport handlers are more entrenched and therefore more responsive? Are independent niche handlers able to deliver a more personal service? Or is everything on its own merits?
RP&WR There is no magic answer for procuring quality ground handling services as even the most disciplined multi-national network handlers has not yet been able to develop a system to provide exactly the same quality service at multiple locations, therefore, in our selection process we always drill down to what is the best available handler at an individual location. This can sometimes be an airport handler, sometimes a multinational and sometimes a small independent company.
AHI Is all IT pursued with and from Mercator or do you go outside the group for IT too?
RP&WR Mercator has recently been renamed Emirates Group IT and is a leading supplier of IT solutions to the global air travel industry and therefore a perfect fit for Emirates’ IT needs. Yes, Emirates works closely with its in-house IT service provider. Emirates Group IT assists in identifying and sourcing any product required.
AHI Have you any general comments on the ground handling market? Are you able to source what you need when you need it? Does Dnata set the bar at a high level and third parties have a lot to live up to? Are you pleasantly surprised by what is on offer?
RP&WR Dnata is an organisation committed to delivering a quality product and certainly sets a quality benchmark we would like replicated across our network. We operate a global network across a wide variety of airports, some of which are in extremely challenging environments, and so we work with our suppliers to minimise inconsistencies and deliver to our standards.
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