Emirates vows to expand service to Asia

Emirates vows to expand service to Asia

Zakki Hakim, Dubai, UAE

Emirate Airlines vows to expand its service in East and
Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, hoping to garner more
revenue from the fast-growing market.

Company executive vice president for commercial operations
worldwide Ghait Al Ghaith said the airline considered Indonesia a
special market given its huge Muslim population and the fact that
the nation is the largest supplier of workers to the Gulf region.

"Indonesia is very important for us, as it is the largest
Muslim country in the world, and there is always a need to
connect the country with Saudi Arabia," Ghaith told The Jakarta
Post on the sidelines of the company's shareholders meeting on
Wednesday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

He said that the airline was currently in intensive discussion
with the Indonesian government on the possibility of gaining more
access in the country.

"We are now focusing on Jakarta, but we are also targeting
tourist destinations, especially Denpasar, Bali. However, there
is no firm plan yet," he said.

The airline's revenue from East Asia grew by 40 percent to 3.7
billion dirham (US$10.1 million) last year from the previous
year's 3.7 billion dirham.

Emirates has set up its regional hub in Singapore and is now
eyeing Bangkok as its next main hub aside from Singapore. The
capital, Ghaith said had the potential to become a major hub in
the region following the Thai government's move to adopt an open-
sky policy mid-last year.

He said the airline had "no problem" with its main competitor
in the region, Singapore Airlines, and felt no threat from the
growing budget airlines in the region.

While several giant airlines in the region, encouraged by the
success of several budget airlines in the region, have
established their own no-frills subsidiaries, Ghait said Emirates
was not interested in the business.

"It's a totally different game. The main ingredient of our
philosophy is to take them into our network," he said.

The airline currently has 61 aircraft serving a total of 75
destinations in 53 countries, including one to Jakarta, and is
planning to open a passenger service to New York this year.

Emirates Group, which is wholly owned by the government of
Dubai, recorded a net profit of $476 million last year, a 67
percent increase from $285.7 million in the previous year. Aside
from Emirates Airline, the group also has a cargo service through
Emirates SkyCargo, operates hotels and the Dnata Airport in
Dubai.

Emirates Airline's profit jumped 73.5 percent to $429 million
from $247.1 million in 2002, while Emirates SkyCargo booked a 42
percent increase in profit to $629 million.

"The Emirates Group's strong performance in the latest
financial year confirms not just that we are on the right track,
but also that we are doing our part to help our government
realize its aggressive master plan for Dubai's development," the
group's chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktioum told a press
conference on Wednesday.

"We have plans in place for next year to maintain the momentum
and to continue to deliver the same kind of performance," he
added.

Emirates Airline, which has been consistently profitable --
except in its second year -- since it was established in 1985,
carried 10.4 million passengers last year, an increase of almost
two million or 23 percent compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, its cargo service moved nearly 660,000 tons last
year, a 26 percent increase from the previous year.