Emirates upbeat on Nairobi-Dubai route prospects

Global demand for air travel has risen, driven by robust growth in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

August international passenger demand rose 7.1 per cent compared to similar period last year, with airlines in all regions recording growth, led by Middle East carriers, data by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows.

Total capacity climbed 5.8 per cent pushing load factor up one percentage point to 85.2 per cent.

Middle East carriers’ August demand jumped 13.7 per cent over the similar month in 2014, despite slow downs in non-oil sectors of the region’s main economies. Capacity kept pace at 13.5 per cent and load factor edged up 0.1 percentage points to 83.7 per cent.

African airlines’ traffic rose 3.6 per cent in August year-to-year, which was the slowest growth among the regions but the second consecutive month of growth. Capacity increased 2.9 per cent, while load factor improved 0.5 percentage points to 75.2 per cent.

The Nairobi route is among those that have registered increased demand as airlines jostled to provide the best connectivity to various destinations globally.

Emirates Airlines five months ago deployed an extra and bigger aircraft on the Nairobi-Dubai route to cater for growing passenger demand. The Boeing 777-300ER boosted the airline’s capacity on the route by 1,638 seats a week.

Hubert Frach, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president commercial operations West Americas, Africa, Europe & Russia Federation talked with Business Daily’s Allan Odhiambo in Dubai on the company’s strategy.

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You introduced a second bigger Boeing 777-300 ER plane on the Nairobi route from May 1, 2015, what is the experience so far?

The Boeing 777 aircraft is the backbone of the Emirates fleet and is very popular with customers. We now have an all Boeing 777 operation on the route, and our passengers are enjoying the enhanced product with our luxurious private suites in first class and our fully lie-flat seats in business class and spacious economy cabin. The increased cargo capacity on the 777-300 has been well absorbed by increasing demand as well.

What is driving traffic on the Nairobi route?

We have a healthy mix of both business and leisure traffic on the route, both inbound and outbound. The good connectivity to Dubai and beyond drives passenger growth, especially to/from Europe, US, Far East and West Asia. Dubai as a destination in itself is seeing increasing popularity.

What is your short-term outlook on the Nairobi route?
The Dubai-Nairobi route is doing very well for us and we believe the extra capacity meets a growing demand for our services to and from Kenya.

Does Emirates plan further expansion on the Nairobi route soon?

We currently have no plans for further expansion on the Nairobi-Dubai route, as we recently increased capacity on the route with the second Boeing 777.

Africa has been pressured to act on punitive fuel taxes and open up its skies, does Emirates share in this thought?

Emirates has always advocated an open skies policy, such as we have in Dubai. This, we believe, promotes competition, which is good for the customer and contributes to economic growth through the aviation sector. Open skies is evolving over time and Emirates in Africa is operating within the existing government agreements.

Do you have plans for additional routes in Africa?

Yes, we will be launching in Bamako, Mali on October 25 this year.

Is the current turmoil in the global currency markets a deep concern to Emirates?

As a global business, we are not immune to currency fluctuations. In our last fiscal year, our bottom line was impacted by currency fluctuations which limited the profitability boost from lower oil prices. However, we still managed to post our best financial results to date, which is testimony to the strength of our brands and business fundamentals, as well as the dedication of our workforce.

African airlines aren’t performing well, what could be the problem?

Emirates cannot comment on the operations of other airlines. Our focus is to continue to invest in and grow our business and ensure we offer customers value for money with excellent service and products.