Is it any wonder that the American airlines are worried about the Gulf’s carriers, and Emirates most of all? Yet again, and for the 27th time, they have turned a profit — an impressive profit — without making the act of flying with them one of torture and humiliation.
Be under no misapprehension, for an airline to consistently produce results as impressive as this, is no fluke. It takes focus and dedication. That starts at the top but extends all the way down the organisation.
Of particular note is that the growth in revenue matched growth in capacity. That shows that the airline continues to grow profitably. In an industry like aviation, with very lumpy capacity increases (you cannot introduce half an aircraft), profitless growth and indeed revenue-less growth, is both all too easy and all too common.
Nor was the year one of plain sailing. In addition to the noise and commotion created by the US carriers, screaming “unfair” at an airline that is clearly doing more than a few things right, we have had the Ebola outbreak, civil unrest and a hugely disruptive runway upgrade at its hub at the Dubai International to contend with.
The fall in the price of oil clearly helps all the airlines, but the strength of the US dollar, in which most payments in aviation are denominated, offset some of that benefit.
The capacity increases this year foreshadow more growth to come. Again, the challenge will be to make that profitable growth. Who would bet against a focused, determined and customer orientated organisation like Emirates?
The author is managing director of the Europe-based strategic advisory, government and public affairs firm, Aviation Advocacy.
