What started as the Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata) in 1959, created to run the ground-handling operations at the then yet-to-open Dubai International Airport, is now an international player.
The late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, then Ruler of Dubai, was ahead of his time in understanding the power that an airport would have to transform Dubai.
"However, back in the 1950s, Dubai was still a small desert outpost, oil had not yet been discovered and the emirate did not have the estimated Dh733,000 needed to fin-ance the project," says a book being published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dnata.
Shaikh Rashid saw an opportunity to help generate the capital needed for the airport through airline ticketing. At that time in Dubai, airline tickets were sold through various merchants in the souqs.
In 1958, the Dubai government gave notice to carriers, aviation authorities in Sharjah (where the nearest airfield was located) and to those merchants in the souq holding agency deals, that it intended to nationalise the business.
"All tickets issued on Dubai territory would, from the beginning of 1959, have to be cleared through a new entity. This reform would effectively see the birth of the Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata)," it says.
Humble roots
In January 1959, Dnata started trading out of a small shop in the Bur Dubai souq. At first there were just two staff members, but they were provided with the best available technology of the day.
The fledgling Dnata shop was the first dedicated travel agency in Dubai.
Dnata was launched by the Dubai Government just a year before Shaikh Rashid opened the airport in 1960 with an open-skies policy.
Dnata's new travel shop then played an integral role in helping Dubai grow as a business centre because it transformed the way people booked their travel, the draft of the book says.
"Before Dnata, buying tickets was a frustrating and immensely time-consuming process, often involving multiple visits to a shopkeeper who knew little about timetables and schedules.
"It was not the way that people, particularly foreign businessmen, expected to operate. The emergence of Dnata meant that for the first time in Dubai, customers could do everything in one transaction, assisted by knowledgeable and efficient staff."
Synergies
Today, 50 years later, Dnata has outgrown its vision to spread across 17 airports in seven countries serving the aviation industry through a number of business verticals —travel, ticketing and reservation, airport and ground handling, leisure travel management, cargo operations, flight catering and other services.
However, despite its enormous success, Gary Chapman, president of Group Services and Dnata, remains humble.
"We are not driven by the last dollar. We are driven by what is good for Dubai," he says, reflecting the fact that Dnata, Emirates and Dubai grew hand in hand over the last few decades.
Dnata achieved a 22 per cent increase in revenue, despite the global downturn. The company posted a record net profit of Dh507 million ($138 million).
"The financial results are pleasing indeed, but more so the style adopted by focusing on high-quality and service, without sacrificing safety standards, essential ingredients to the longevity and well-being of every business and its people," Chapman said.
Emirates Group, which includes Emirates airline and Dnata, are one of the largest employers in the UAE with 48,000 professionals serving about 40 million passengers a year through Dubai International Airport — its hub.
Both Emirates airline and Dnata today contribute about 25 per cent to Dubai's economy — directly and indirectly.
Although Dnata was established about 26 years before the launch of Emirates — Dubai's flagship carrier, in 1985 — it was later brought under the Emirates Group to strengthen the group's overall travel and tourism offering, thus providing integrated solutions, from booking, reservation, ticketing, ground handling, leisure and destination management, on-board catering, baggage and cargo handling.
In its 50th year, Dnata also has a second home-grown airline, flyDubai, to serve and help groom. "We wanted to be the best, not the biggest," he says, when asked on Dnata's global ambitions — as it celebrates half a century of achievements.
"Travel services have become very competitive. Ground-handlers do not have the right margin. Return on investment is very low. We always tried to find opportunities where we'd have decent return on investments — reasonable returns.
"However, the key for us is to continue improve business standards," he says at his posh office in the new Emirates head office overlooking Dubai International Airport. Today, Dnata controls 40 per cent of Dubai's air travel market.
Over the last five years, Dnata's travel management arm has spread wings across the GCC.
"For Dnata, it has been a steady and positive journey. It has been phenomenal. We are fortunate to have a very good set of skills, well looked after," Chapman says.
People power
"We have been structured and managed well." He attributes the success of Dnata to his colleagues — 10,000 of them, including 7,000 in the UAE and the rest split among its international and regional operations.
"We have to be compassionate about people, work," he said.
"People have to have respect for others, colleagues and the customers they serve.
"Putting people first is easy to say. However, it's difficult to do. For us, one of the key areas is doing the basics right."
For the next ten years, the company's motto will be to continue to do the right things better. However, its success hinges on a motivated workforce.
"Give them the right guidance and support," he said.
Optimistic
Despite the current economic situation that has taken a toll on the global travel and tourism industry, Chapman remains optimistic about his company's future.
"The global aviation industry is growing through a difficult phase," Chapman says.
"Average yield has gone down 25 per cent this year. However, we remain optimistic as we are based in a great travel hub that continues to attract visitors.
"As long as people travel, you do not need to worry."
Next year, Dnata will add Al Maktoum International Airport (AMIA) in Jebel Ali to its growing portfolio of airports. This requires a shift in operations — from a single hub to a dual one.
AMIA arguably is the world's single largest greenfield airport that has been designed to handle 250 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually through six runways, six concourses and two huge terminals.
When completed, the $30 billion (Dh110 billion) development will spread across 140 square kilometres of land and create the world's largest integrated aviation cluster, offering almost everything the industry will need. Dual airports are a logistical nightmare, Chapman says.
"It's a challenge. Any new airport launch is a challenge: the ramp up, logistics, the investment, etc," he says.
However, his team has already chalked out plans to serve customers at the new airport which opens in June 2010.
"We have identified a team of professionals, resources and logistics. No matter what it costs, it needs to get done," he said.
"At Dnata and our associated companies we intend to concentrate on two important elements. Firstly, every dirham is spent wisely; costs are trimmed; and productivity improved for the customer.
"Secondly, to provide bespoke services that meet customer demands, for a high-class product of international standard," he said.
