Emirates upbeat as core exports provide dependable base load

The African continent will continue to rate high on the radar of Emirates Airlines, cargo manager South Africa Kum Naicker told FTW last week. “The African continent has not always been top of mind for some,” says Naicker, “but when carriers like Emirates add capacity it helps to stimulate the economy.” In terms of South African traffic, while airfreight export volumes in general were a little flat last year, imports and core exports continued to provide a dependable base load for Emirates, according to Naicker. “We carried fair volumes of automotive cargo to Germany and the Far East as well as good volumes of fish to Spain – although luxury items like lobsters took a dip.” And Naicker attributes the consistent loads to the airline’s longstanding philosophy of differentiating by product and customer relationships rather than rate. “We have relationships with key customers and don’t discriminate between high or low season. “We have never exploited the peak season – and in any event the traditional peak that starts from October hasn’t materialised for several years. “By consolidating our position with more traditional 12-month business, our volumes have remained steady.” A strong element of the airline’s value proposition, in Naicker’s view, is its network. “Our entire fleet is made up of wide-body aircraft and in many countries in mainland Europe we serve multiple destinations. In Italy, for example, which is a destination for fresh fish and lobsters, we fly to Milan, Rome and Venice, all with wide-body aircraft, which often means no need for trucking. This is a more cost-effective and convenient option because we save the customer the redistribution costs. “The same applies to the UK where we serve London Heathrow and Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow.” An eternal optimist, Naicker is upbeat about the year ahead, and confident of improved load factors on its current South Africa schedule. We’ll continue to offer six flights a day – three to Johannesburg, two to Cape Town and one to Durban – in addition to the two freighters to OR Tambo. “Volumes do fluctuate throughout the year and we’ll be keeping a close watch on load factors to determine the feasibility of freighter operations. There have been times in late 2011 and early 2012 where we operated three freighters; right now it is two but let’s see how the market behaves. We are confident that our service and brand reputation are well embedded in the minds of both importers and exporters. We know when we are operating more flights it is a great sign of health for the South African economy." CAPTION SA cargo manager Kum Naicker (left) and senior cargo sales executive Muhammad Cassim ... consistent loads.