Emirates is targeting major markets in Australia, India, China and the US to expand its new parcel delivery service, as it unlocks new revenue streams and maximises the use of its wide-body fleet.
The Dubai-based airline will start package delivery for Australia by the end of April and India in the “next few months” to tap into the Asian economy's $8.6 billion outbound courier express parcels market, Dennis Lister, senior vice president of product and innovation at Emirates Skycargo, told The National.
The “massive” Chinese market will be next, followed “eventually” by the US and then the rest of Emirates' global network of 148 destinations in the long-term by leveraging the belly-hold of its mammoth fleet of passenger aircraft and dedicated freighters.
“The goal needs to be wherever Emirates flies, we can have connectivity for passengers and for parcels in the long-term,” Mr Lister said on the sidelines of the Iata World Cargo Symposium in Dubai.
“We want to be everywhere on the planet and to be the largest integrated door-to-door parcel delivery entity on a passenger fleet, cross-border, in the next three to five years.”
Earlier this month, the world's biggest long-haul airline launched the Emirates Courier Express service, transporting packages from an initial seven markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, South Africa and the UK. The parcel delivery time of under 48 hours serves B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) users.
We want to be everywhere on the planet and to be the largest integrated door-to-door parcel delivery entity on a passenger fleet, cross-border, in the next three to five years
Dennis Lister,
Emirates Skycargo
Emirates, which operates the world's biggest fleet of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, flies nearly 248 wide-body aircraft to 150 destinations. “Just like passengers, packages will travel from origin to destination directly,” Emirates said in its April 2 statement.
Beyond tariff turbulence
The parcel delivery service will help boost the airline's profitability, unlock more growth opportunities as it takes delivery of more aircraft and “future-proof” the business.
“The reason we built this is creating a sustainable revenue for the company. As we expand the fleet out, we're getting a lot more planes, we have to ensure that we are actually in a position to generate our revenue stream, which means innovating on products,” Mr Lister said.
Emirates Courier Express launched during a time of heightened uncertainties, fears of a global recession and an escalating US-China trade war unleashed by President Donald Trump's tariffs on its trade partners.
However, the airline is taking a long-term view on its new service and is confident in the logistics industry's demonstrated ability to recover from geopolitical crises and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“No one really knows what's going to happen with this changing policy on tariffs, that's the reality,” Mr Lister said, and that the logistics industry has a history of weathering the storm of various challenges.
Mr Lister said the airline is developing the service as it builds for the future and beyond US tariff turbulence.
“We can't look at the next six months. What we build in five, 10, 20 years out, the brand we're building will live forever,” he said, with the Dubai airline shifting its focus to future trends.
China remains the “world's factory” and has generated “massive interest from big customers”, the airline has invested heavily in technology, people, infrastructure and partners for its courier express project, Mr Lister added. Products such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices will be a priority amid the need for the transport of critical goods for people who need them quickly, he added.
Emirates Skycargo expansion
More broadly, Emirates is expanding its air cargo operations to meet strong growth in demand as it operates at full capacity.
Emirates Skycargo plans to double its capacity to 21 dedicated freighters by 2026, Badr Abbas, divisional senior vice president for Emirates SkyCargo, said on the sidelines of the Iata World Cargo Symposium in Dubai. It has 10 dedicated freighters and six wet-leased Boeing 747s.
Emirates is currently evaluating a new freighter plane order, choosing between the Boeing 777X freighter version (known as the 777-8F) and the Airbus A350-1000F.
The airline plans to add 20 new freighter destinations in the “coming few years”, Mr Abbas said. Emirates Skycargo announced the launch of a weekly freighter to Narita International Airport in Japan starting from May 24.
It flies to 38 freighter destinations, in addition to the belly-hold of passenger aircraft to 148 destinations.
The “booming” e-commerce sector, as well as demand for transport of pharmaceuticals and perishables by air, is driving the cargo division's growth, he said.
To position itself for future growth, Emirates SkyCargo is working closely with the Dubai government that is investing in Al Maktoum International Airport to build the “world's largest cargo hub” that will have capacity to handle 12 million tons of cargo annually, he said.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
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UAE%20Warriors%2045%20Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%0DMain%20Event%0D%3A%20Lightweight%20Title%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAmru%20Magomedov%20def%20Jakhongir%20Jumaev%20-%20Round%201%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-Main%20Event%0D%3A%20Bantamweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERany%20Saadeh%20def%20Genil%20Franciso%20-%20Round%202%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECatchweight%20150%20lbs%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EWalter%20Cogliandro%20def%20Ali%20Al%20Qaisi%20-%20Round%201%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBantamweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERenat%20Khavalov%20def%20Hikaru%20Yoshino%20-%20Round%202%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFlyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EVictor%20Nunes%20def%20Nawras%20Abzakh%20-%20Round%201%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFlyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EYamato%20Fujita%20def%20Sanzhar%20Adilov%20-%20Round%201%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELightweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAbdullo%20Khodzhaev%20def%20Petru%20Buzdugen%20-%20Round%201%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECatchweight%20139%20lbs%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERazhabali%20Shaydullaev%20def%20Magomed%20Al-Abdullah%20-%20Round%202%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFlyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ECong%20Wang%20def%20Amena%20Hadaya%20-%20Points%20(unanimous%20decision)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMiddleweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EKhabib%20Nabiev%20def%20Adis%20Taalaybek%20Uulu%20-%20Round%202%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELight%20Heavyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBartosz%20Szewczyk%20def%20Artem%20Zemlyakov%20-%20Round%202%20(TKO)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
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HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
