Emirates executive plugs airline at home

By CHRIS DANIELS aviation writer

When Auckland man Gary Chapman left New Zealand in the early 1970s, the cost of air travel was so high he was forced to go part of the way by ship.

Now he is a senior executive of one of the world's fastest-growing and most ambitious airlines, the Dubai-based Emirates.

As one of the main sponsors of the New Zealand Open golf tournament, Emirates is also bringing its global strategy of high-profile sporting sponsorship to this country.

Chapman is president of Emirates' ground-handling and travel agent business, Dnata, now one of the largest travel organisations in the Middle East, and employing more than 6200 people.

He is responsible for corporate development and all the Emirates Group's non-airline businesses, including joint ventures and flight catering.

While back in New Zealand for both family and business purposes, Chapman is taking the time to promote Emirates as a lean, competitive airline, not some flying arm of the Dubai Government.

One of Chapman's frustrations is the oft-heard folklore that Emirates is bankrolled by bucket loads of oil money, able to burn competitors out of the sky with its deep pockets.

"It's an old record, it's used for political consumption, it's not true. Anyone who cares to take our annual report and analyse it, will see."

Emirates has had a total of no more than US$50 million of state capital since it began.

"We are transparent. This is one of the things that bugs us a little. We have been so successful and everyone says 'you must be subsidised' - it's [nonsense]."

Some of the reasons for the financial success of Emirates include its "greenfields" site, and its relative youth.

Another advantage for Emirates is the fact that it is not listed on any stock exchange. This, says Chapman, means the company can focus on its long-term plans, without the fixation on quarterly share prices and responding to what the financial analysts might be saying.

Such a fixation on share price "is the damnation of many an organisation" says Chapman.

He also gets annoyed at claims that Emirates gets cheap fuel for its jets - a total myth.

The advantages Emirates enjoys are more to do with the support it gets from the Dubai Government - which has a longterm plan to transform the emirate into an aviation, trading, communications and business centre of the Middle East.

"We are going global, we are going to be a global brand, which is one of the reasons you see the sponsorship and we do a lot in sport, as it's one of the areas we think works very well."

The future for Emirates expanding its operations to New Zealand looks positive, especially with 26 new long-range Boeing 777-300ERs into the fleet, from next year.