Showing posts with label catering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catering. Show all posts

Emirates group first half fiscal 2014 net profits up 4%. Airline net profit up 2% to $475 million

by Devesh Agarwal

Emirates A380. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal.
The Emirates Group, the aviation holding company of the Al Maktoum family which rules Dubai, and the parent of Emirates airline, announced its first half (April to September) results of the fiscal year 2014 (ending March 31, 2014) today.

Group

The Emirates Group revenues reached AED 42.3 billion (US$ 11.5 billion) for the first six months of its current fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, up 13% from AED 37.5 billion (US$ 10.2 billion) at 30 September 2012.

Net profit for the Group rose to AED 2.2 billion (US$ 600 million) an increase of 4% over the last year’s results.

The Group’s cash position on 30 September 2013 came down to AED 18.2 billion (US$ 4.9 billion), from AED 27.0 billion (US$ 7.3 billion) six months earlier. This is after a AED 1.8 billion bond repayment which matured in July 2013, a AED 367 million first instalment payment on a USD one billion Sukuk (Islamic equivalent of bonds), and a AED 7 billion injection back into the business to fund new aircraft, engines, spares and other projects across the Group.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said
“The global business environment continues to be challenging. We have stayed agile even as we grow, and this ability to adapt and act quickly has been key to our success. Our investments in the infrastructure of both Emirates and dnata continue to pay off,”
Group employee numbers increased 11.7% to over 75,800 from six months earlier.

Emirates airline

Capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK), grew 16.9% on the addition of ten aircraft – six A380s, three 777s and one 777 freighter in the reported six month. 15 more new aircraft scheduled to be delivered to the airline before March 31, 2014, the end of the current fiscal year FY2014.

Passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) was up 16.1% with a load factor averaging 79.2% down from last year’s 79.7%. In number, Emirates carried 21.5 million passengers in the six months, since 1 April 2013, up 15% from the same period last year.

Cargo volumes increased 5.2% but the airline has not released the actual performance nomrally measured in FTK (Freight Ton Kilometre) or capacity in ATK (Available Ton Kilometre) .

Emirates airline's revenue, including other operating income, for the six months was AED 39.8 billion (US$ 10.8 billion) up 12% from last year's first half revenue of AED 35.4 billion (US$ 9.6 billion) to return a 2% increase in net profit of AED 1.7 billion (US$ 475 million).

Fuel prices constituted 39% of the airline's expenditures. The Union and state governments of India would be well advised to observe the disadvantage they put Indian carriers to, thanks to their greedy excessive taxation regime which makes fuel between 45%~50% of expenditure.

Emirates launched new routes to Haneda and Stockholm, bringing the total count of new routes launched in the past 12 months to seven including Adelaide, Lyon, Phuket, Warsaw and Algiers. The airline now flies to 137 destinations in 77 countries, up from 126 cities last year in 74 countries. Additional new routes to be added in the remaining part of the fiscal year include Kabul, Kiev, Taipei and Boston.

The airline also celebrated the five year operating anniversary, of its A380 super-jumbo. Emirates' A380s have carried 18 million passengers since its first flight on August 1, 2008 from Dubai to New York.

dnata airport services and infrastructure

dnata (formerly Dubai National Air Transport Association) now operates in 38 countries with revenues including other operating income of AED 3.7 billion (US$ 1 billion), 18% higher compared to AED 3.2 billion (US$ 864 million) last year. Overall profit for dnata rose strongly by 13% to AED 458 million (US$ 125 million).

dnata’s airport operations was the largest contributor to revenues with AED 1.4 billion (US$ 375 million), a 16% increase from last year's first half revenues of AED 1.2 billion (US$ 324 million). The number of aircraft handled by dnata rose 9%, to 141,845

dnata’s in-flight catering operation, which operates the world's largest flight kitchen, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, recorded strong growth thanks to its acquisition of Servair in Italy in June 2013. Revenues were up 39% to AED 891 million (US$ 243 million). 22.4 million meals were uplifted for the first half of the fiscal year, up a massive 81% from last year.

Revenue from dnata’s Travel Services operation contributed AED 303 million (US$ 83 million), up 16% from the same period last year.

dnata’s cargo handling division grew revenues 4% to AED 546 million (US$ 149 million) on account of increased tonnage mainly for dnata’s UK operation and in Switzerland which rose in total by 2% to 809,236 tonnes.
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Finnair celebrates its 90th anniversary

By BA Staff

Finnair celebrated its 90th anniversary on Friday, 1 November 2013.

 The world’s fifth-oldest airline still in operation, Finnair was established in 1923.

Today, Finnair specialises in flights between Europe and Asia, offering direct connections from Helsinki to over 60 European destinations and 13 Asian destinations.

Over eight million passengers per year fly on Finnair’s all-Airbus fleet.

CEO Pekka Vauramo says:
“We build on a legacy of building better connections between Europe and Asia and our vision of doubling our Asian revenue by 2020."
Finnair celebrated its 90 years of flying in various ways. As one of the special events to mark its jubilee year, Finnair distributed a special Finnair-themed edition of the Donald Duck comic book to all passengers on long-haul flights on Friday, 1 November. Finnair also commissioned a special batch of posters by Finnish graphic designer Erik Bruun to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

As part of the jubilee year, Finnair renewed its service concept and now uses tableware and textiles designed by Marimekko for Finnair on all flights in both Business and Economy Class. (See video below)



In addition, Finnair launched cooperation with two renowned Finnish chefs, Pekka Terävä and Tomi Björck, in September. (See video below)



The entertainment systems of Finnair’s aircraft have also been upgraded, nearly doubling the selection of entertainment on long-haul flights with 72 films and over 150 television programmes available in both Business and Economy class.

Finnair is harmonising its fleet and became the first airline to take delivery of the new Airbus 321 Sharklet aircraft in September. Finnair is also installing new, fully reclining seats in most of its long-haul fleet from January 2014 onwards. See fleet video below.



In spring 2014, Finnair will open a new Premium Lounge at Helsinki Airport. The Premium Lounge will be located next to the existing Finnair Lounge between gates 36 and 37 in the non-Schengen area and will complement its services. As part of the renewal, a sauna and private showers will be opened between the lounges, and a new tax free shop will be opened in front of the existing Finnair Lounge.

Finnair has received international recognition in its anniversary year: Finnair became the first airline to be selected in the Leadership Index of the global Carbon Disclosure Project on carbon dioxide emissions. Finnair is also the only Nordic airline to be awarded four stars by Skytrax, and it has been named Northern Europe’s Best Airline at the World Airline Awards for the last four years. In addition, it was recently named Best European Airline at the annual TTG Travel Awards. Finnair is a member of oneworld alliance, which is formed by the world’s leading airlines.

See more videos from Finnair celebrating various aspects of their 90 years in aviation.


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dnata selects Amadeus' flight management solution

By BA Staff

Amadeus, announced that dnata, part of the Emirates group of Dubai and one of the world’s largest combined air services providers, will implement Amadeus' Altéa Departure Control’s Flight Management solution in their centralised load control offices (CLC) in Dubai.

The airport ground handler, is now present in 75 airports in 38 countries. The deal spans all Emirates and flydubai domestic and international flights and over 100 other dnata customer airlines using the system.

Under the agreement, Amadeus will provide dnata, which offers ground handling, cargo, travel and flight catering services, with a fully automated solution for managing the weight and balance of all flights it handles from its CLC in Dubai.

This solution is a new generation load control platform designed to enable ground handlers to ensure efficient flight departures and optimise the weight and balance process of all handled flights. It improves the productivity of load controllers, and enables greater precision in the forecast and analysis of passenger and cargo load. The system automatically defines optimal load distribution, thereby optimising fuel requirements for airlines and increasing uplift capacity of aircraft.

Jon Conway, Divisional Senior Vice President, Airport Operations, dnata, said:
“Amadeus’ in-depth experience, vast reach and high level of development will help us gain greater efficiencies through the full automation of our weight and balance system. Furthermore, Altéa Departure Control’s Flight Management enables us to provide our airline customers with significant fuel savings. The system’s community and SaaS elements also allow for greater collaboration with our customers. Altea DCS FM is already showing high performance in a centralised load control (CLC) environment, increasing productivity.”
John Jarrell, Head of Airport IT, Amadeus, commented:
“We are extremely pleased to continue our airport journey having signed the world’s fourth largest ground handler. Amadeus is proud to be part of dnata’s successful growth strategy today and into the future. We are certain this will only be the beginning of a fruitful relationship as we work closer together with this important customer to offer further enhancements in ground handling. This agreement enables us to strengthen our foothold globally, alongside our 50 ground handlers currently using our solutions today.” 
Francois Weissert, SVP & Chief Technology Advisor Middle East and Asia, Amadeus, stated:
“We are very happy to add an important ground handler like dnata to our growing list of customers in the Middle-East region, where we already have agreements in Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Amadeus believes in the potential of this region, which has established itself as a global air travel hub over the last few years. Since the creation of our regional head office in Dubai, we continue to invest in this strategic area, growing hand in hand with our customers and the regional travel industry.”
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