Business News of Monday, 7 November 2011

Source: Daily Guide

Emirates Expands Ghana Operations

Emirates Airline, one of the leading airlines in the world, has expanded its operations in Ghana.

Emirates has increased its three weekly flights to a daily service because of the numerous passengers who travel to Dubai and the Middle East.

The airline has thrice won the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) best airline award for three consecutive times and recently the Ashanti Business Excellence Award.

According to Manoj Nair, West Africa Regional Manager, Emirates, his outfit primary focus in Ghana is to deliver superior service since Ghana’s route has added to its profitability over the years. Currently, the airline employs 82 Ghanaians including cabin crew.

Briefing the press, Mr. Nair said Emirates performance was due to a strong and vibrant management team as well as having the youngest fleet in air. Its fleet has an average age of 79 months.

He added that Emirates is committed to supporting the community in which it operates, citing an assistance they gave to the Osu Children’s home recently.

Going forward, the airline plans to operate new routes including St Petersburg and Baghdad, which will be launched on November 13.

Emirates, which is wholly-owed by the government of UAE, started operations in 1985 from a relatively rudimentary Dubai airport.

With a fleet of 160 modern, wide-bodied aircraft and 192 aircrafts worth about 66 billion dollars, the airline, under the leadership of Shiekh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, currently serves 114 destinations on six continents from its international hub of Dubai.

The Emirates Group recorded its 25th consecutive year of profit in 2010-2011 financial year with a record performance of US 1.6 billion dollars net profit, despite a challenging business climate.