FT was enthralled by the relative ease with which his guest was handling complex situations and his suggestions, which clearly showed optimism and forward thinking. Diplomacy, collaboration and decisive decision making were identified by van Haeften as the legacy he received from the business leaders he had worked with: “convincing but also open to being convinced, remaining open to the perspectives and opinion from different people and welcome a healthy debate, as long as all interactions are underpinned by respect.”
     After the scene setting it was high time to talk about figures and plans for the future:  “Having looked at the first part of 2024, it has already been an impactful year for Emirates SkyCargo. The offering remains in demand, with longstanding and new customers valuing the innovative product portfolio of Emirates’ extensive global widebody network and world-class capabilities. In the last financial year SkyCargo moved 2.2 million tonnes of cargo worldwide, meaning it continues to outperform the market, on track to surpass this figure in this financial year, with healthy load factors across the network. SkyCargo’s largest business unit by tonnage is perishables, with an average daily uplift of 900 – 1,000 tonnes of fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, etc. Likewise, demand for Life Sciences and Healthcare cargo remains steady, and this is reflected in our data, an average 2,000 tonnes a week.
     “Both cross-border e-commerce will continue to grow significantly. Not only do consumers expect their goods to be delivered swiftly, it has also accelerated the typical product cycle with manufacturers and distributors looking to restock their shelves on a weekly basis, rather than monthly. This also contributes to an increase in demand. As production powerhouses in e-commerce and high tech goods demand from the Far East as well as South and West Asia, transporting cargo through Dubai across the globe, particularly into the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. makes business sense. The hi-tech product cycle tends to be approximately 3 to 4 years, but given the latest developments in technology, including AI, we expect to see an increased demand for these goods this year.”

     For IATA, May marked the sixth consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth for global cargo demand. “As we continue to outpace the market, having analysed the data as far back as 2023, we anticipated this trend and adjusted our freighter schedules accordingly to ensure we could facilitate our customers’ needs,” was the inevitable conclusion.
     In this picture, van Haeften shared his standpoint regarding his fleet and network: “We have laid out our 10-year strategic roadmap that will see us double our capacity and add 20 new destinations to our global network: our focus in 2024 and beyond is clear. With a view to addressing the current capacity constraints, we announced an order for an additional 5 Boeing 777 freighters to be delivered between 2025 and 2026, increasing available main deck capacity by 30%. This is in addition to the 5 777Fs on order and the 10 777-300ERs that are being converted into freighters, marking a huge leap forward in our 10-year plan to double capacity. In the first half of the year, we returned to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and launched to Bogota, Colombia with passenger services, creating more efficient ways for our cargo customers to access both markets. By the end of the year, we will have restarted operations to Lagos, Nigeria; Edinburgh, Scotland; Adelaide, Australia and launched to a brand new destination, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
     “Likewise, the bellies of our aircraft are full going into Europe, even into secondary points such as Oslo, Bologna and Venice. Via our road feeder service, we are able to extend connectivity and transport cargo via truck to its final destination, which creates more options for our global customers.”
     FT jokingly contended that considering Venice a secondary point was a bit of a luxury, and wanted to know more from Jeffrey with regard to the product developments. “From a product perspective, we launched Emirates Delivers in Saudi, providing fast, reliable and cost-effective international delivery from the UK, US and the UAE. The Middle East has historically been underserved when it comes to reliable online delivery solutions and, harnessing our global network, widebody fleet and frequency of the flights, we can scale Emirates Delivers to address this gap.
     “Since our inception, Emirates SkyCargo has been a facilitator for global trade. As the cargo arm of the world’s largest international airline, we leverage Emirates global network of over 140 destinations across 6 continents to transport goods to all corners of the world. With every new and unique destination added to our network, we improve trade flows and generate new, reciprocal business opportunities that help strengthen global economies. At our hub in Dubai, we operate two world-class cargo terminals, with extensive cool chain capacity, including the world’s largest, EU GDP-certified pharmaceutical hub, enabling us to transport even the most sensitive cargo safely and reliably. Harnessing the technical insight of our experts and customers, we have developed tailor-made solutions for highly specialized transportation needs, assuring our customers that their cargo will be handled with purpose-fit attention throughout its journey.”
     The picture before our eyes could not look rosier, and how soon do we forget the dire straits when we look at the wide placid ocean in a clear summer day . . . “Out on the water, we can see our true selves" wrote John Steinbeck many years ago. We have actually been on a pretty rough ocean for quite some time, not so long ago, as we all remember. FT wanted to test our interlocutor on this point, as we all know airlines had their own dire straits between 2020 and 2022. “Is there emerging a need for an enhanced standby plan to deal with crises?” was our question.
     “One of the most valuable business lessons we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of remaining nimble, which allows to pivot more seamlessly when needed. This is true for a geopolitical disruption or a pandemic, but equally true for something banal, but more common, such as changing trade patterns or customer behaviours. While some might be intimidated by these changes, we have over 30 years of facilitating global trade. Over the decades, we have seen peaks and troughs, driven by macroeconomic and geopolitical issues. However, we understand that it is important to look at the big picture and ensure short term blips do not negatively impact the medium or long term. We are confident in the long term growth of the global market and air freight’s essential role in keeping goods moving. Striking the right balance between having a long-term 10-year blueprint, while still being flexible enough to adapt to an ever-changing world is a careful dance, but we have the right processes, the right expertise and most importantly, the right people at Emirates SkyCargo, who are always ready to rise to a challenge and achieve great things.”
     In closing FT could not avoid asking our guest what his view on the relationship between forwarders and airlines was, considering his prominent background with CEVA and DHL, in particular after publishing our straightforward 'All about CASS' article a few days back. There we saw Jeffrey van Haeften’s diplomacy in action: “Absolutely, our strong and collaborative relationships with freight forwarders all over the world underpin our business. Our ambition is to solve the transportation challenges of different industries, and by working with freight forwarders, we can identify and address specific issues and create new products to cater to this, as we did with both Emirates Vital and Emirates Medical Devices.”
     Dear Reader, if you made it to this point, you are certainly a person who values the power of successful numbers, in particular in Air Cargo. The power of figures is clear for our readership and even outside, but let us say this time the figures were so big, and they could have made us all jealous. If you were able to contain your envy, well, you earned your reward: stay focused on the word “careful” and watch this wonderful class performing the Oshin Choreography.
GDA/Marco Sorgetti