Emirates services to the UK have been boosted with the launch of a second daily service to Birmingham. 

The second Birmingham flight uses an Airbus A330-200 aircraft which offers an additional 14 tonnes of cargo capacity each way daily, not to mention great flexibility for Emirates SkyCargo customers. 

Flight EK037 departs Dubai at 13.45 and arrives at Birmingham at 20.15. The return flight EK038 departs Birmingham at 21.55 and arrives at Dubai at 07.45 the next morning. 

Emirates original daily service, launched in December 2000, is flight EK039 which departs each day at 07.50, arriving in Birmingham at 12.20. 

Since the launch of the first daily Dubai-Birmingham service, some 23.4 million kilos of cargo has been carried between the two cities.

Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, said: “The launch of Emirates’ second daily flight to Birmingham is in direct response to increasing demand for our services. Our Birmingham route has been an overwhelming success.”

Emirates will add a second daily non-stop A340-500 service between Dubai and New York JFK International Airport from November 7. 

Since the direct service was introduced in June, 2004, it has been an “unprecedented success” both in terms of cargo and passenger uplift, said Ram Menen, Emirates Senior Vice President Cargo.

The additional daily flight will double the bellyhold capacity from 15 to 30 tonnes and it supplements the twice-weekly freighter service that operates between Dubai and new York, via Gothenburg. 

The new service will raise total weekly cargo capacity to New York from 330 tonnes to 435 tonnes, an increase of 32%.

Said Menen: “The extra capacity will offer our cargo customers a wider range of options and schedule flexibility between the US and Dubai, and onwards to points in our network.” 

The new daily service, EK203, will depart Dubai every morning at 01.30 and land in New York at 07.10 the same day. The return flight, EK204, will depart JFK at 09.10 and arrive at Dubai at 06.50 the next day.

UK-based International Freighting Weekly (IFW) magazine has presented Emirates SkyCargo with its Air Cargo Carrier of the Year Award for the second successive year. The major honour was announced at the historic Honourable Artillery Company in London.

Martin Roebuck, Editor of IFW said: “Emirates SkyCargo has demonstrated that it has continued to enhance its already high levels of customer service.” 

A panel of judges - senior figures from several global cargo companies - chose Emirates SkyCargo from a shortlist of top international air cargo carriers.

Ram Menen, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Cargo, said: “We are honoured to receive this award for the second year in a row,   a powerful affirmation of Emirates SkyCargo’s continuing drive to offer the highest levels of customer service.”

Emirates SkyCargo has won several major cargo awards this year including: ‘Best Air Cargo Carrier - Middle East’ from Cargo News Asia for the third consecutive year; and ‘Best Cargo Airline to the Middle East’ (17th year running), ‘Best Cargo Airline to the Indian subcontinent’ (8th year) and ‘Best Cargo Airline to the Far East’ for the second time from Air Cargo News.

Emirates SkyCargo freight capacity to London Heathrow has been given a major boost following the launch of a fifth daily service from Dubai.

Operating an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, the service gives freight   customers an additional 14 tonnes capacity per flight between Dubai and Heathrow bringing the total to around over 70 tonnes daily, depending on aircraft used.

The new flight, EK029, departs Dubai at 09.50 and arrives in London at 14.15 the same day. The inbound service, EK030, departs Heathrow at 17.00 each evening, arriving in Dubai at 02.55 the following morning. All times are local.

From 1 September, the cargo capacity on the new service will rise to 17 tonnes when a three-class service is introduced. The increase in frequency means that Emirates will offer 13 daily departures to the UK from Dubai, some 91 return flights per week.

Ghaith al Ghaith, Emirates Executive Vice President Commercial Operations Worldwide, said: “We are pleased to confirm this additional daily service to Heathrow which has long been in our forward planning. It provides our customers with increased choice and flexibility, enabling us to meet demand for services to Heathrow from Dubai, giving our customers even greater flexibility when planning their journeys.”

DHL Danzas Air & Ocean has been named top cargo agent in Malaysia by Emirates SkyCargo. The firm topped the “Top 5” agents recognised and honoured for   their outstanding performance during 2003/04.

The occasion was an Emirates SkyCargo luncheon for agents held to acknowledge their substantial cargo revenue contribution and to honour the long-standing working relationship with agents.

“We are fortunate to have the support of our agent partners,” said Alban Lee, Country Manager, Malaysia, Emirates. 

The other top five cargo agents were: Forward Freight Services; Hecny Transportation; Aeroplus Freight Services and Eastrex-ICF.

Guests at the luncheon, held at the Sheraton Subang Hotel, included: Loong Lap Chong, Branch Manager DHL Danzas Air & Ocean; R. Aravinthan, Manager, Export DHL Danzas Air & Ocean; Charlton Hung, General Manager, Hecny Transportation; Michael Loo, Managing Director, Forward Freight Services; Steven Ooi, General Manager, Aeroplus Freight Services; and Alvin Chua, Executive Director, Eastrex-ICF.

More than 60 Swiss forwarders took part in the annual mini-golf tournament organised by Emirates SkyCargo in Switzerland. Gianfranco Melone and Marco Bresciani of Via MAT International took the challenge trophy in the game, which was played before a dinner. 

Pictured, from left are: Marco Bresciani, Emirates SkyCargo Area Manager, Switzerland, Mohammed Al Habbai, Gianfranco Melone and Emirates Cargo Manager   Switzerland, Chris Jolley.

A new daily connection between Sydney, Australia and Christchurch, New Zealand is now being operated by Emirates, offering freight customers greater flexibility.

The new air link is an extension of Emirates’ Dubai-Sydney daily non-stop service and replaced the airline’s Dubai-Melbourne-Christchurch routing. 

That routing now connects Melbourne to Auckland.   As part of the route reorganisation,   the Emirates’ Dubai-Singapore-Melbourne-Auckland service now terminates in Melbourne.

Emirates will continue to operate four flights a day from Dubai to New Zealand - daily to Christchurch, and thrice a day to Auckland. On the new Dubai-Sydney-Christchurch routing, Emirates operates its Airbus A340-500 aircraft which offers 14 tonnes of bellyhold capacity for cargo.

From its Dubai hub, Emirates offers shippers from Africa, Europe and the Middle East a speedy one-stop service to New Zealand’s north and south islands, as well as excellent flight options to four cities in Australia - Sydney (twice daily), Melbourne (twice daily), Perth (daily) and Brisbane (daily). Emirates plans to double its services to Perth by October this year.

With its roaring economy, Seoul was a prime target for Emirates SkyCargo which launched services linking the South Korean city to Dubai earlier this year. 

There was no shortage of shippers keen to take advantage of the new service, and you certainly had to be quick to the first. 

That honour went to Excel Freight which booked automobile spares on the inaugural flight. That landmark was recognised in a presentation of a certificate by Emirates SkyCargo to Excel.

Simon Koon, Operations Manager at Hong Kong’s CTI Logistics has been named by Emirates SkyCargo as the top customer for making online bookings in the year to March, 2005. He wins two Emirates Business Class tickets to Dubai after registering 6,515 bookings that totalled 3,403 tonnes to top online bookings on SkyChain, Emirates SkyCargo’s one-stop cargo web shop.

Emirates SkyCargo will offer 17 tonnes of bellyhold space for cargo per flight when Emirates begins flying from Dubai to Malta via Larnaca four times a week from October 1. Air Malta will code share on the flights between Malta and Larnaca.

Flight EK107 will depart Dubai on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 08.35 and arrive at Larnaca at 11.15, before departing Larnaca at 12.15 and landing at Malta at 14.10. 

The return flight EK108 will depart Malta at 15.40, arriving at Larnaca at 19.15, before departing Larnaca at 20.15 and arriving at Dubai at 00.30 the next morning.

Emirates SkyCargo and its UK handling partner Servisair hosted a group of freight agents from around the Birmingham area to an evening “at the dogs”. The event was held to thank the carrier’s key agents for their support for Emirates SkyCargo’s services from the city.

Whilst enjoying the thrills of greyhound racing at the city’s Hall Green track, the agents were also given an update on Emirates’ second non-stop daily flight from Birmingham to Dubai. 

Both daily flights are operated by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, with a cargo carrying capacity of up to 17 tonnes.

Pictured are New Zealand agents and representatives of Emirates SkyCargo after the annual awards ceremony for agents. The top five winners were; Kuehne & Nagel New Zealand, DHL Danzas Air & Ocean, GV International, Lep International and Owens Coolair. Present at the event was Peter Sedgley, Vice President Cargo Commercial Operations.

Emirates SkyCargo has launched a brand new range of products and solutions.  

The new range follows the move to rationalise and streamline its existing products and solutions, and will cater for the diverse needs of its fast-expanding network and customer base. 

Now, whether it is potato chips or microchips, mobiles or servers, acids or alkalis, ‘snail’ mail or antique chain mail, horse or hyena, fish, flowers, fruits, or maybe just a last-minute gift, the cargo division is geared for it all.

Ram Menen, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Cargo said: “This is a significant strategic initiative at Emirates SkyCargo. It is the result of a proactive study and analysis of our customers’ future needs that is based on their feedback, industry predictions and our own assessment of worldwide trade.”  

Emirates SkyCargo’s new product array includes: Priority, Dangerous Goods, Live Animals, Valuables, Vulnerables, Perishables, Courier and Post Office Mail. Priority and Courier products continue to offer the benefits of late booking and acceptance, precedence in loading and offloading, and even money-back guarantees. 

Dangerous Goods are handled by a special team of highly-qualified, licensed experts trained in acceptance, handling, loading and safe movement, while Valuables and Vulnerables are protected and constantly monitored by trained personnel. 

Emirates SkyCargo’s new solutions embrace Integrated - Airport to Door; Integrated - Door to Airport; Integrated - Door to Door; Protect; Cool Chain; Animal Care; Charter Services and Customer Partnerships. Integrated solutions provide customers with the convenience of collection and delivery at home or office while Protect offers special storage areas, monitoring and surveillance. Animal Care specialises in pet movements, especially horses, and provides kennels.

Air freighting 52 large fibreglass tanks sloshing with water containing more than a million juvenile fish over more than 3,300 kilometres might seem like an overwhelming task laced with many a pitfall.

But it posed no problems for Emirates SkyCargo.

The unflappable cargo division of Emirates recently transported the tanks from Athens to Fujairah. The tanks were filled with 1.26 million sea bream fry and water, and came complete with oxygen cylinders to ensure the fish had a continuous supply of air.

The entire shipment - tanks, fish, water and cylinders - weighed 62,400 kilos and filled a Boeing 747-200 freighter. 

Even more challenging was the effort necessary to secure the tanks to the pallets. 

Hiran Perera, Emirates Vice President Cargo - Freighters, said: “Yes, the cargo certainly was unusual and posed a bit of a challenge, but I’m delighted to say our staff in Athens and in the UAE did an excellent job.” 

The shipment was for International Fish Farming Co, PJSC - Asmak, Fujairah, which supplies fish locally, regionally and internationally.

Emirates SkyCargo has boosted cargo capacity frequency between Hong Kong and its Dubai hub, in response to surging demand and record high cargo volume. 

The new freighter service, in partnership with SAS Cargo, takes Emirates SkyCargo’s total number of Boeing 747-400 freighter services from Hong Kong to Dubai to nine a week. Besides the dedicated freighters, Emirates SkyCargo also offers belly-hold space on Emirates’ 12 weekly passenger services.

The addition of the new service means that Emirates SkyCargo can now offer more than 1,300 tonnes of payload capacity out of Hong Kong every week.

In the nine months from April 2004 to January 2005, Emirates SkyCargo’s Hong Kong operations carried nearly 35,000 tonnes, representing an increase of 14.5% over the same period of the previous year. In November 2004 alone, it carried a record 4,916 tonnes. This strong performance is a result of an increase in scheduled flights as well as an increase in demand for payload capacity by shippers.

Jacky Lau, Emirates’ Cargo Manager Hong Kong said: “Emirates SkyCargo has experienced strong growth in the past year, thanks in large measure to the unwavering support from shippers, cargo agents and courier companies. We continue to receive positive feedback on our services and also customer requests for more frequency of flights!”

Emirates SkyCargo recently hosted two key British freight forwarders in Dubai, for an all-expenses paid weekend that culminated in a day at the Emirates Dubai Desert Classic.

The forwarders won their places on the weekend after coming first and second in Emirates SkyCargo’s UK golf tournament which took place in September 2004. At that event, 30 leading British freight forwarders played for the much sought-after prize.

Pictured are the forwarders at the Dubai Al Badia Golf Resort. They are, from left, Mark Foard, CV Freight, Justin Hanson, Emirates SkyCargo Senior Cargo Sales Executive, London Heathrow, and Duncan Ford, Sutch and Searle.

A Cargo Sales Agency (CSA) agreement covering the United States has been signed between Emirates SkyCargo and Globe Air Cargo. 

Globe Air Cargo, with branches and associated offices in major cities around the USA, was founded in Miami in 1992 and is exclusively dedicated to the representation of airlines. 

Partnering over 20 airlines worldwide, Globe Air Cargo is an IATA-affiliated company and members of FAGSA (Federation of Airline General Sales Agents).

“We take this opportunity to welcome Globe Air Cargo into our ever expanding global network,” said Prakash Nair, Emirates Manager Network Cargo Sales Development. 

Emirates SkyCargo put on an impressive show at Air Cargo Europe (ACE) held in Munich recently, with a massive stand and a daily contest, generating immense interest in its products and solutions among the 45,000-strong throng of visitors.

At its double-decker stand occupying 72 square metres, Emirates SkyCargo had a full complement of senior executives from Dubai and Europe to meet visitors and talk business. 

Soccer-crazy fans played and relived the matches of the previous FIFA World Cup in an exciting interactive videogame at the stand, with high-scorers grabbing places in a daily raffle. 

Daily winners took home aircraft models, while Lars Mader from Roehlig Aircargo GmbH won the grand draw – two highly-prized match tickets for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, which for the first time in its history is sponsored by an airline – Emirates.

Transport Logistics, of which ACE is a part, is a leading European exhibition, attracting more than 1,000 exhibitors from 52 countries. Emirates SkyCargo has participated in both ACE shows.

Emirates SkyCargo’s growing operations network has been reinforced with the appointment of Mike Duggan as Cargo Charter Capacity Manager.

With an MSc in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University and a BSc in Economics, Australian Mike, aged 36, worked for DHL in Bahrain during the mid 1990s and then for Southern Air Transport (SAT). 

“I was responsible for sales activities in Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Indian sub continent,” said Mike.  

Mike then worked for NATS, the air traffic control authority in UK during its privatisation, and later in aircraft sales, organising dry lease and sales of aircraft to operators on behalf of banks and financial institutions.

“With my love of the airline industry, and a desire to move to a city like Dubai, the opportunity to join Emirates SkyCargo has arisen and here I am!!”

Cairo is one of the world’s most ancient historical and geographic crossroads and it shows no signs of giving up that role. Ask the Emirates SkyCargo team based at the Egyptian capital’s international airport.   

Members of the team have seen the cargo throughput at the airport grow from modest beginnings when services were launched in 1986, to an average 600 tonnes per month at present. And the team believes it can raise its game even further with the recent addition of new cargo capacity following an aircraft type change.

Egypt’s classical civilisation was founded on the rich soils found along the banks of the River Nile, and agricultural produce remains to this day a major export and an important part of the cargo mix handled by the team at Cairo. 

“Egypt has one of the best soils in the region,” said Emirates SkyCargo Cargo Manager Egypt, Mostafa Ghaith. “The country’s main exports are fresh vegetables and fruits, to the Middle East, Far East, Africa and Europe.

“Egypt also has one of the best types of cotton in all the world, so we see textiles coming after fresh vegetables and fruits.”

Inbound, Egypt imports industrial spare parts and electronic consumer goods such as mobile phones and computer equipment. These come from points around the world, including Europe, the United States and the Far East.

“The result is that we handle an average of 600 tonnes of cargo load every month,” said Mostafa. “All Cairo flights are full of cargo all the year, except May and June when there is less variety of agricultural products.”

Emirates SkyCargo began operations to Cairo in 1986, operating four flights a week, using Boeing 727 aircraft. Today, there are eight flights a week, with a mix of Boeing 777-300, Boeing 777-200 and Airbus A330-200 aircraft being used. 

The weekly flight portfolio is looked after by the Emirates SkyCargo team of Mostafa, Senior Cargo Assistants Hatem Monem and Taha Ahmed, and Cargo Assistants Yasser Radi and Mohammed Khalil. 

According to Mostafa there is scope for expansion of cargo throughout after the increase in the number of flights operated using the larger capacity Boeing 777-300. 

“The future of the station looks very good,” he said. “There were payload restrictions due to heavy passenger movements which limited our cargo capacity, but now that the Boeing 777-300 operations have risen to five times a week, there is a good opportunity to increase station revenue.”  

Beyond the regular bellyhold cargo services, Emirates SkyCargo has also operated occasional Boeing 747 freighter flights, including one filled with humanitarian relief goods for Sri Lanka during the tsunami. 

Having won the Emirates SkyCargo most improved station award for the year 2001/02, the Cairo team is also planning ahead for expansion opportunities via Borg El Arab airport, Alexandria. Emirates began operations there earlier this year, though at present the airport does not have cargo-handling facilities. 

As soon as they are in place, the Emirates SkyCargo Cairo team plans to be one of the first to service customers wanting the Alexandria connection.

One customer had extra cause to be glad of the Emirates SkyCargo service – and it was all thanks to Hub Operations Porter Shaukat Ali. 

Shaukat was on duty in the Acceptance unit at Dubai when he found a wallet containing Dhs 6,000 in cash, together with credit cards and personal items.

He informed the duty Cargo Assistant who managed to track down the customer and return his wallet.

Shaukat’s prompt action has been recognised with a Mabrouk Award. 

“The customer was absolutely delighted and very grateful that his wallet had been found by somebody so honest,” said David Gould, Vice President Global Operations, in a note to Shaukat.

“We congratulate you on your exemplary behaviour which in this case has projected a very positive image of Emirates SkyCargo to one of our customers. We are proud to have you in our team.”

Emirates SkyCargo has been entrusted by BAS Ltd, exclusive agents for DHL Danzas Air & Cargo, to transfer two Malta-built AC Cobra MKV cars to New York. AC is the oldest British car brand, having been in business since 1901.  

“This new series AC MKV is in essence a modern recreation of the original AC Cobra,” said AC Cars Chairman and Chief Executive, Alan Lubinsky. “It will soon be launched in Europe and the Middle East with special concentration on Dubai.”

Said Lino Bonello, Operations Director of Emirates SkyCargo in Malta: “AC Cars joins an increasing number of local customers who are entrusting Emirates SkyCargo with their export and import requirements.”

He added that Malta has shown a steady increase in tonnage every year since Emirates began its operations to Malta in 1998.

As of October 1, Emirates will be flying from Malta to Dubai four times weekly via Larnaca, Cyprus, offering customers a significant increase in cargo capacity.

Emirates SkyCargo is helping keep the lights burning in Tanzania after flying a massive power-generating engine from Dubai to Calgary, Canada and back.

The 13-tonne LM6000 engine travelled on Emirates SkyCargo’s Boeing 747-400F from Dubai to New York and finished its journey by special truck to Calgary. 

After it was put through its maintenance paces, the engine made its way back and then from Dubai to Tanzania where it is used in a power plant that produces electricity for residential and commercial buildings.

Keith Stanley, Emirates Senior Cargo Sales Executive, who helped plan the shipment, said: “Besides the ability to move outsize shipments, this shipment is a prime example of Emirates SkyCargo’s customer partnership bound into a tripartite agreement. 

“The transportation of this engine on our services materialised after our agents, Kuehne & Nagel, worked out and recommended the most economical logistics for this particular movement to the end customer.”

From Dar Es Salaam, the agent used an Ilyushin IL76 to transport the engine to Dubai, where it was loaded onto a 20-foot pallet and then centre-loaded on the Boeing freighter.

Emirates Skycargo has built considerable expertise in handling outsize shipments. Its Boeing 747-400F is equipped with a nose door as well as main and lower deck side doors, enabling it to fly larger and heavier loads over longer sectors.