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(Karachi Exclusive) FD Malik, Emirates Sky Cargo manager
of sales and service in Pakistan breezes into the room trailing a handsome young
couple along for a morning interview, conducted in a handsome home in a part
of Karachi, Pakistan named Defence.
Defence
is a neighborhood of well-kept, private homes and small children that was named
for the extraordinarily large number of military families that reside here.
For as many years as anybody can remember, Mr.
Malik has been the public face of red-hot Emirates SkyCargo, that just last
month added all-cargo Airbus A310 service to several destinations from Dubai,
including Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad.
Mr. Malik is broad shouldered and distinguished
in appearance, a commanding figure who is immaculately dressed, with hair slightly
graying at the temples.
But beneath the window dressing beats the heart
of a true air cargo pioneer and total transportation professional.
There is no in-between in FD’s deep-dish
air cargo knowledge.
“Mr. SkyCargo In Pakistan” is a fair
moniker and a familiar sight whether at the airports of this varied and dynamic
country, or at one of its trade events where EK is occasionally on the prowl,
like at the Pakistan Leather Show and other venues.
"We participate in various exhibits to inform
our customers and the shipping public about our growing menu of services that
we offer, including the best cargo facilities available in Pakistan.
“SkyCargo makes it easy for importers and
exporters to concentrate on their specialties and leave the transportation to
us from end to end.
“An aspect of Emirates SkyCargo - of great
importance to Pakistan shippers, is our unmatched flight schedule from here
offering capacity to meet demand.”
Emirates serves Pakistan’s leading cities
of business, tourism and culture including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.
An indication of the importance that EK places
on the developing markets of Pakistan, was seen last month when the carrier’s
first ever all-cargo aircraft owned by the airline was pressed into scheduled
freighter services to Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan.
The service is operated every Tuesday, departing
Dubai at 10:00 hours arriving Islamabad at 14:00 hours local time, returning
at 15:30, arriving Dubai at 17:50 hours.
“Boosting existing capacity helps Islamabad
export larger volumes of surgical equipment and leather goods as well as readymade
garments; and import raw materials and spares needed to support Pakistan's manufacturing
industry.”
Emirates SkyCargo also serves Islamabad with belly-hold
capacity five times a week, offering more than 80 tons of payload, which now
totals 120 tons with the new freighter service.
Two more A310Fs are scheduled to enter Emirates'
fleet by the end of the year.
Another important job for both EK belly lift and
its freighter is moving Pakistani mangoes, the delicate fruit that is in high
season right now.
An example of just how effective and important
the SkyCargo connection has been is seen in recent figures released by The Pakistan
Horticulture Development & Export Board (PHDEB) showing that The United
Arab Emirates so far has imported around 50 million kilograms of Pakistani mangoes
worth about $14.2 million at wholesale prices.
Dubai
in fact is the largest UAE importer of mangoes from Pakistan.
“SkyCargo has created a market for Dubai
fruit traders to both meet local demand and to export mangoes to other regional
countries.
“Emirates has also brought some important
firsts to Pakistan Cargo including our state-of-the-art cargo automation system,
SkyChain, which introduced Internet bookings on a real-time basis from anywhere
by anyone and with a lead time of 250 days.
"Cargo is the backbone of our airline and
we are quite conscious of the role of the cargo agents in establishing Emirates'
in Pakistan.”
It’s obvious that SkyCargo landed a top
executive when FD Malik joined the team after a career building air trade as
part of Pakistan International Airlines.
Although he has traveled the world and undoubtedly
has an arsenal of “war stories,” the consummate professional FD
prefers to give much of the credit for the carrier’s great success to
others.
“We have a first rate team here, all pulling
in the same direction and an airline that puts the customer first.
“It really doesn’t matter who directs
the play book, the formula is set to win.”
Contact: fd.malik@emirates.com
