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A
R C H I V E S
DEAL OF THE
CENTURY
As
aviation celebrate 100 years of flight, since the historic first flight
at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903 by Orville and Wilbur Wright, there
is this notion amongst some people in the airline business, that the most
exciting days of aviation are long behind us.
But just when it looks like nothing is new,
better look again.
That stunning mega-order from Emirates Airline
of Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Air-bus Industrie and Boeing at the
Paris Air Show, is the biggest in civil aviation history, worth a total
of $19 billion.
Emirates has ordered 21 of the new super-jumbo
A380s, two A340-500s and 18 A340-600s, plus a stable full of B777s.
But beyond the numbers, and the fact that
these orders play against a background of two thousand aircraft parked
in deserts elsewhere due to lack of demand, what Emirates Airlines has
taken here is high stakes risk of the kind that has not been seen in commercial
aviation since TWA’s legendary Jack Frye wrote an open letter to American
aircraft manufacturers in 1933 pleading for a new airplane because his
company could not buy the Boeing 214, (that airplane turned out to be
the DC-3) or since Pan Am’s Juan Trippe in 1969 pulled the world into
the jumbo-jet era by demanding that the Boeing B747 be built and ordering
the first few dozen B747-100s.
Emirates has just about bet the airline
and its future, on an airplane—the A380 super-jumbo yet to be built.
Forget about Singapore Airlines or anybody
else. When it comes to changing the way you will fly, Emirates is absolutely
the most innovative, aggressive, interesting and, really the driving force
in the business and best airline story in the world right now.
Rarely has one company dominated the interest
of an entire industry like Emirates.
This company rises from the center of the
Middle East desert in a place called Dubai, that not so long ago was thought
of as little more than an oasis for traders who based their strategies
for the region from Beirut and elsewhere.
Last year, when they celebrated a milestone
in Dubai, Friday October 25, as Emirates Airlines (EK) marked seventeen
years of service, it had already become abundantly clear that this was
no ordinary teenager.
In less time than it takes to tell about
it Emirates, the airline, SkyCargo the high-tech, time-driven logistics
provider, and Dubai, the international airport have risen in spectacular
and steady fashion to the very top of world commercial aviation.
But forget about the 200 plus awards, the
high-tech gizmo IT approach, the wealth of new aircraft orders, plans
to launch service to North America in Summer 2004, and the rest.
What we like best about Emirates Airlines
is the sense of purpose and excitement that the airline has brought to
aviation.
Put another way, at times even when elsewhere
in this business everybody seems tired, EK is fresh.
Think about it.
After the horror of 9/11, it was Emirates
that stepped up to the plate and reaffirmed its faith in the future with
big orders for new Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
It was also Emirates that moved boldly to
maintain schedules and services after others chopped flights and schedules
during the aftermath of 9/11 and the world economic slowdown of 2002.
Now in post-war 2003, amidst continued world
uneasiness punctuated by a soft airline business, Emirates is at it again,
the superstar of an airline company always putting forth the attitude
of purpose and a plan. Even as others are drawing down, EK continues to
build its future.
Ram Menen |
Ram
Menen, who heads up SkyCargo recalls a career that began back when Emirates,
the airline was not a cinch to succeed:
“We used to have our cargo sheds just along
the runways at DXB. “Our first operations started with a A300-B4 and B737-300
.. both on short leases from PIA. The first B727-200 joined the fleet in
1986 to our first short-hauldestinations.
“When that tri-jet took off, the aircraft
passed by our cargo operations so close that you thought you could hand
out tickets right there. The entire corrugated metal cargo building alongside
the runway shook.”
Looking over the big ultramodern airport with
SkyCargo’s huge automated cargo center that dominates Cargo Village at DXB,
Mr. Menen seemed a bit proud, if vaguely still not quite satisfied.
“We’ve come a long way in 17 plus years with
much more to come.
“Our first Airbus A380 super jumbo aircraft
flight from North America will depart from Toronto on Sunday November 1,
2009 at 2240 hrs.,” said Tim Clark, chief director for the airline.
Is that true we wonder? Can you project a
flight where service doesn’t even exist, this far in advance?
But then we remember Jack Frye and Juan Trippe.
Dreamers and doers have always been part of the airline landscape.
Tim Clark smiles. “Our new Moscow/ Dubai A330
nonstops commence 1st of July 2003.
Other service start-ups in the meantime are
planned.
But Mr. Clark’s point is well taken.
While markets of opportunity will be recognized,
nothing will deter this company from its long term plan and destiny, of
developing itself into one of the great airline companies in the history
of commercial aviation.
“Watch us,” Tim Clark says.
As the now almost endless procession of cream
white liveried EK aircraft billboarded with the name Emirates, and no cheat
line, but featuring a stylized fluid United Arab Emirates flag swept back
upon each aircraft tail, readies to depart DXB, every single flight seems
to celebrate this airline’s bold march to tomorrow.
It’s the best show in town and in the world,
really. |
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FOOD
FOR THOUGHT
What
is it about the airline business?
First they cut out food on flights
and then eliminate snacks as well except for soft drinks and tepid
coffee.
Now the big “new” idea amongst the
U.S. carriers is to offer food for sale charging six or seven bucks
for something to eat.
Frequent fliers already have figured
out the ‘food while flying’ game.
Unwilling to fly up front, and burn
off points while aboard domestic flights of less than five hours,
most people we fly with, stop prior to boarding and grab a sandwich,
along the sterile corridor to the plane.
Last week at ATL, there we all were
in coach, munching away on hero sandwiches from a place near the
gate, where the average two pounder cost five bucks and was plenty
to eat.
A week before that, it was Southwest
barbeque brisket from DFW that wafted above the cabin, got caught
in the air recirculation and moved to first class where the piquant
aroma caused the best upper sets to turn around in wonder and longing
as the smoke detectors in the lavs sounded the alarm.
Selling food aboard flights might
bring some surprises.
Just wait until passengers who never
have liked airplane food much anyway, start paying for the grub
and asking for refunds.
They better buy up a bunch of those
metal coin changers for the flight attendants too.
In any case, all of this has led to
those silver sandwich wagons, staples of air cargo food access while
on the time clock in industrial areas across the USA, to in some
cases dump tight-fisted air cargo people scratching for a buck to
ante up for the watered down coffee.
Now many of these former “roach coaches”
have been reborn as “mobile canteens” for the traveling public by
repositioning themselves near long term parking and in some cases
even setting up outside passenger terminals, offering a last chance
to get some food to go for departing passengers.
The point of all of this is, once
again air cargo loses. But amidst industry layoffs there may be
an overlooked opportunity here.
While food trucks makes a bee line
to greener pastures dripping their way to the other side of the
field, somebody looking for another occupation could do worse than
go into the mobile food business.
As far as we can tell, you don’t even
have to know how to cook to operate one.
The best mobile food truck in the
U.S. is Rikin at the Miami International Airport cargo area.
Rikin offers a great view of MIA’s
main runways as backdrop, plus they have set up a little patio for
open air dining, offering Cuban sandwiches and excellent Colada
coffees.
The other place to have coffee at
an airport is at Carmen’s inside Cargo Building 80 at JFK International
Airport in New York.
The coffee “Star Mountain” is grown,
roasted and brewed on the spot by Carmen Ham and her husband, who
everybody calls Ham.
Star Mountain is the best coffee anywhere
actually, served up lovingly cup by cup.
We tell you about Star Mountain realizing
that the passenger geeks might attempt to steal another air cargo
resource for their nefarious purposes.
The way we look at it, we are all
part of the globalization process.
That means everybody gets the opportunity
to get into a good thing.
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