‘Africa an important market for Emirates’

In a reshuffle of portfolios, Nigel Page has expanded his area of responsibility to become Emirates’ senior vice president – commercial operations for Americas and Africa. No stranger to South Africa, Page spent two years here as sales manager for British Airways in 1979-81. He paid a whistle-stop visit to South Africa last week ahead of Emirates’ October launch of daily Durban flights. In tight economic times, cargo can sometimes make the difference between a profit and loss, said Page, who pointed to a volume dip on certain cargo routes worldwide. But Africa remains an important market for the airline which launches a three times a week service on the Dubai- Angola route on August 2. “We see a lot of opportunity in Africa which is certainly holding up well in the worldwide recession,” he said.