THE EMIRATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW

THE EMIRATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW

EMBRY RIDDLE UNIVERSITY

ALI BASMACI
 THE EMIRATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................2
2. Company Overview ............................................................................................................................................2
2.1 Competitors, challenges and opportunities ...............................................................................................3
2.2 Marketing Strategies ..................................................................................................................................5
3. Leaderhsip and Management Philosophies .......................................................................................................5
4. Human Resource Management Policies .............................................................................................................6
4.1 Recruitment ................................................................................................................................................6
4.2 Local Labor Market, Human Resource Management and Ethical Concerns ..............................................7
4.3 Environmental and Community Contributions ..........................................................................................8
5. Operatoinal Strategies ........................................................................................................................................9
5.1 First to Market ............................................................................................................................................9
5.2 Best In Class Service ................................................................................................................................ 10
5.3 Diversification .......................................................................................................................................... 10
5.3.1 Mitigation of Financial Risk.............................................................................................................. 11
5.3.2 Marketing Power ............................................................................................................................. 11
5.3.3 Knowledge Gain ............................................................................................................................... 12
5.3.4 Case Examples ................................................................................................................................. 12
5.4 Global Operations.................................................................................................................................... 13
5.5 E-Commerce ............................................................................................................................................ 14
6. Political Environment and Future Growth....................................................................................................... 15
6.1 Canada ..................................................................................................................................................... 16
6.2 China ........................................................................................................................................................ 16
6.3 European Union ....................................................................................................................................... 16
6.4 India ......................................................................................................................................................... 17
6.5 The United States .................................................................................................................................... 17
7. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 17
Appendix .................................................................................................................................................................. 18
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 2

1. INTRODUCTION

This paper will address the emergence of The Emirates Group as a global leader in international air

transportation services. Topics of discussion will include, The Emirates Group overall global strategies,

marketing strategies and growth strategies. Drawing mainly from recent peer reviewed periodicals, industry

reports, personal interviews, news articles and financial reports, the strength and weaknesses of The

Emirates Group will be scrutinized. The paper further investigates the firm’s competition, challenges from

competitors, geopolitical events and infrastructure constraints.

2. COMPANY OVERVIEW

The Emirates Group, a Dubai based aviation holding company wholly owned by the Government of Dubai,

provides domestic, regional and international air transportation services. Its primary focus revolves around

flight services, ground handling, catering, IT solutions, engineering tour operations and cargo support. It

does however also provide ancillary services such as training and event management (ICD Research, 2016).

The group has flourished under Dubai’s wide open skies policy which grants greater competition, increased

flight frequency and promotes business travel and tourism.

The Emirates Group airline segment carried a record of 56.1 million passengers and 2.6 million tonnes of

cargo across 156 destinations in 83 countries in 2015 (The Emirates Group, 2017c). Its fleet consists of 259

wide-body aircraft, fifteen of which are dedicated freighters. Between 2016 and 2017 Emirates took

delivery of 35 aircraft, and retired 27 reducing its average fleet age to 63 months (The Emirates Group,

2017c). In 2017, The Emirates Group airline segment reported revenues of US$ 22.7 billion.

Geographically, Europe provided revenues of just over US$6.4 billion, East Asia and Australia US$ 6.1 billion,
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 3

Americas US$ 3.3 billion, the Gulf and Middle East US$ 2.3 billion, Africa US$ 2.3 billion and West Asia US$

2.2 billion.

The Emirates posted its 29th consecutive year of profit despite Europe, one of its key operating regions,

experiencing heightened concerns regarding, immigration, terrorist attacks and a military coup in Turkey.

Further challenges include lower yields and weak consumer confidence as seen in the increase in available

seat kilometre (ASKM) of 10.3% (The Emirates Group, 2017c). Recent challenges for the Emirates Group

also manifest themselves in its reduction in cargo revenue of 5% in 2017 resulting from a fall in prices and

depreciating exchange rate effects, although much of this was offset by higher volume (The Emirates

Group, 2017c). Non-transport revenue however, increased by 10% as new food and beverage outlets

opened in the United Arab Emirates and Australia.

dnata, an Emirates Group subsidiary that provides ground handling, cargo, travel and flight catering services

across five continents reported revenues of US$ 3.2 billion. dnata's recent success is attributable to its

growth strategy of international acquisition and organic growth (The Emirates Group, 2017c). In 2016

dnata acquired full ownership of Ground Services International (GSI) and Metro Air Service Inc. (Metro)

based in the Unites States of America. It also purchased Transecure LLC (Transecure) and Air Dispatch, the

world’s leading provider of load control services (The Emirates Group, 2017c). dnata handled 2.1 million

tons of cargo and 623,611 aircraft both domestically and internationally. In 2017, its international airport

operations grew to become its largest business segment by revenue (The Emirates Group, 2017c).

2.1 COMPETITORS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) chief economist Brian Pearce recently predicted

that gulf carriers, Emirates included, will experience very slim profit margins with earnings before
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 4

interest and tax (EBIT) of just 0.6% of revenues (Dudley, 2017). Pearce suggested that oil prices

and political instability in the region have contributed to the meagre forecast. Furthermore, The

Emirates Group will have to contend with congested airspace, possible travel and trade

restrictions and the growth of Turkish Airlines which currently flies to 300 destinations and plans

to expand its fleet to include 421 narrow and wide-body aircraft (Dudley, 2017). The Turkish

Airport Authority has forecasted domestic and international travel to increase by 16% and 11%

respectively. When compared to Emirates, Turkish Airlines has a much stronger market position

in Europe with 58% of international passengers originating from European destinations and

benefits from a well-developed cost structure yielding a cost per available seat kilometre (CASK)

of US$ 7.8 (CAPA Centre for Aviation, 2018).

Emirates must also contend with several other significant and influential air carriers as well,

namely, Qatar Airways and Etihad. Qatar Airways is protected by the local government and

operates from an oil rich state. It operates to over 100 international destinations and like

Emirates, operates a young fleet renowned for its premium in-flight services and strengthening

brand name bolstered by an aggressive sponsorship and advertising campaign. Similarly, Etihad

which is fully supported by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, operates within an expansive worldwide

network of over 120 destination using a fleet with an average age of six years (Air Fleets, 2018b).

Furthermore, it boasts a strong a geographically diverse partner network allowing it to extend its

global reach (Swott & Pestle, 2018).

Although Emirates remains as the largest operator in the Gulf region, it must be able to hedge

against increasing fuel costs, which can significantly affect profit margins. Furthermore, it must
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 5

contend with a barrage of accusations from American and European carriers that claim Emirates

engage in anti-competitive activities. Allegations of government subsidies, access to

uncompetitive fuel prices and tax exemptions are three of the major complaints competitors have

lodged against Emirates. In response Tim Clark, president of Emirates has rebutted and reiterated

Emirates’ pursuance of liberalization and open skies (The Emirates Group, 2012a).

2.2 MARKETING STRATEGIES

The strengthening of The Emirates Group brand is a core tenet of the firms marketing strategy.

The Emirates Group spends approximately 4% of its revenue on marketing split evenly between

sports sponsorships and advertising (O’Connell, 2011). The diversity in sponsorships directly

reflects the diverse customer base Emirates serves. The Emirates Group invest in football, rugby,

golf, cricket, racing and tennis sporting events. Furthermore, they sponsor art and culture events

and shopping festivals. All events display the Emirates corporate logo via television

advertisements, clothing and athletic endorsements. All of which serve to increase visibility and

accessibility to the Emirates brand.

3. LEADERHSIP AND MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES

The Emirates group employs a flat hierarchy with few levels of middle management between staff and

executives. (Tomlinson, 2012). (Rishipal, 2014) defines a flat organization structure as one with a

decentralized approach to management, few levels of management, horizontal career path, broadly

defined jobs, flexible boundaries between jobs and units, strong emphasis on teams and an even stronger

focus on the customer. By implementing a flat organizational structure, The Emirates Group benefits from

increased employee motivation, reduced organizational complexity and increased organizational flexibility.

Additional benefits include improved adaptability to market demand, improved collaboration between
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 6

various business units, a marked rise in innovation and creativity and more direct lines of communication,

all of which allow The Emirates Group to meet customer demand and provide innovative solutions

(Rishipal, 2014).

The Emirates Group executives have also, made public their commitment to sustained excellence and

growth. The executive team is very performance driven and focuses on continuous performance

improvement by providing clear and ethical guidance regarding functional excellence and financial

contributions within the organization (Chapman, 2016). There is a further commitment to innovate around

The Emirates Group’s business model in order to generate additional business opportunities aligned with

the firm’s mission statement. Empowering its employees is a cornerstone philosophy of The Emirates

Group as well. It is committed to growing diversity and nurturing its talent pool through continuous

learning and development and providing a safe secure and respectful work environment.

4. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICIES

4.1 RECRUITMENT

As The Emirates Group grows it must fulfill several recruitment objectives, primarily the

acquisition of top managerial and operational talent. In 2017, The Emirates Group ran over fifty

global recruitment campaigns in an effort to accommodate the firm’s growth. A new website was

published to actively promote and facilitate the recruitment of new staff. Candidate screening

processes utilizing digital technologies, including online testing and interviewing have recently

been developed and employed. Alongside an aggressive campaign to recruit expatriates, The

Emirates Group develops indigenous talent across the firm such that it now represents 7% of its

total workforce. It has invested in ab-initio flight training for Emirati pilots and received
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 7

accreditation for all its applied and professional training programs by the UAE National

Qualification Authority (The Emirates Group, 2017c). By doing so, The Emirates Group hopes to

curb attrition due to repatriation.

4.2 LOCAL LABOR MARKET, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL CONCERNS

Effectively managing a firm’s workers such that said firm gains a competitive advantage over its

competitors is of vital importance and the core tenet of Human Resource Management (HRM).

(Hassan, 2016) demonstrated that HRM practices such as compensation, career planning,

performance appraisal, training and employee involvement positively influence employee

satisfaction and performance. (Hassan, 2016) further concluded that employee performance can

be increased by giving them an opportunity to make effective decisions. (Singh, 2004) and

(Munjiri, 2011) similarly conclude that cornerstone philosophies of HRM such as employee

involvement, and continued training positively impact employee performance and satisfaction.

The Emirates Group in fact, offers competitive compensation for a myriad of professional

occupations, particularly for expatriates working within the Unites Arab Emirates. Given the influx

of expatriate workers within the United Arab Emirates, The Emirates Group provides tax free

salaries, accommodation and even transportation to and from the workplace. Medical and life

insurance are provided to workers as well as education support allowance to assist with the cost

of schooling for employees’ children. Furthermore, The Emirates Group provides end of service

gratuity payment along with a pension scheme for eligible nationalities (The Emirates Group,

2018e).

While there are benefits, the region is not void of criticism. When examining the United Arab

Emirates’ (UAE) workforce, there are many that will point to and criticize its access to inexpensive
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 8

and relatively unregulated labour from the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. (Begum, 2014)

has documented abuses, particularly amongst women who migrate to the United Arab Emirates

and criticizes the use of the kafala system in which migrant workers are tied to individual

employers which act as their visa sponsors. Domestic workers are further excluded from basic

protections that UAE labour law affords to other employees such as limits on working hours and

provisions for overtime pay. European airlines have also attempted to use The Emirates Group’s

cost base as proof that it exploits labour from neighbouring nations.

Additional criticism regarding the gender gap in employment is pressed against The Emirates

Group, and the United Arab Emirates as whole. (Al-Wakfi & Al-Faki, 2015) examined the

employment conditions of women in the UAE labour market and demonstrated that

compensation levels are lower for females compared to males across all job categories. (Al-Wakfi

& Al-Faki, 2015) further showed that females are subject to more stringent selection criteria than

their male counterparts and typically require higher educational qualifications than males to gain

access to identical job opportunities.

Despite these criticisms, The Emirates Group does make an effort to provide competitive

compensation for its employees. It strives to promote a safe and nurturing work environment in

which its employees are empowered, encouraged and incentivized to gain operational experience

and knowledge to better themselves (Chapman, 2016).

4.3 ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS

As The Emirates Group expands, so too does its commitment to the environment and global

community. Taking into consideration a report released in partnership with Genesis Analytics,
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 9

The Emirates Group has contributed US$ 417 million to the South African GDP and supported

nearly 13,000 jobs. Similar studies have shown similar contributions throughout Emirates’

network and international community (The Emirates Group, 2017c). The Emirates Group has

recently reaffirmed its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and

continuously works towards better environmental performance and conservation efforts. Recent

commitments to environmentalism by The Emirates Group can be witnessed through its

development of a one-megawatt array of solar panels at the Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre

in partnership with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. The array has a capacity of 1,800

megawatt-hours leading to a reduction of 800 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The Emirates

Group also works towards the termination of illicit wildlife trade through its support of United for

Wildlife, am alliance of influential conservation organisations (The Emirates Group, 2017c).

5. OPERATOINAL STRATEGIES

The scope of operations and uniqueness of Dubai lies in its geographical location connecting east and west.

Consequently, The Emirates Group is readily able to tap the western market along with the Indian

subcontinent and Asia. The Emirates Group has also focused on several key operational strategies which

have proven pivotal to the company’s success; these are discussed in the following section sections.

5.1 FIRST TO MARKET

Expeditious entry of new products and services to market has been essential to The Emirates

Group success. The firm has a reputation of breaking from and permanently changing industry

norms. Many have hailed the firm’s pioneering ideas, several of which include personal

entertainment systems for all seats, private first class suits, use of mobile cellular devices onboard

and the introduction of the SmartLanding and SmartRunway safety solutions.

THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 10

5.2 BEST IN CLASS SERVICE

While some firms focus on cost differentiation strategies and others focus on niche markets, The

Emirates Group has focused itself on becoming a global broad differentiator. The firm operates

an all wide body fleet at an average age of 5.8 years by retiring older aircraft as it takes delivery of

newer more comfortable, and fuel efficient aircraft. This is in stark comparison to American

legacy carriers Delta, American and United with fleet ages of 16.7, 10.4 and 14.6 years

respectively (Air Fleets, 2018a). Furthermore, The Emirates Group provides best in class service

on board all flights, chauffeur services in select destinations, and has invested in airport lounges

worldwide (Nataraja & Al-Aali, 2011).

5.3 DIVERSIFICATION

Airlines are heavily dependent on a myriad of ancillary support products and services within the

aviation sector. Many of these supporting business, which include maintenance, ground handling

services, catering and travel agencies have demonstrated that despite having lower levels of

revenue, have the capacity to drive wider profit margins than airlines themselves. (Redpath,

O'Connel, & Warnock-Smith, 2017). It is imperative however that a firm’s diversification strategy

is related in some way to its core competency (Geringer, Tallman, & Olsen), an approach The

Emirates Group have wholeheartedly embraced.

Diversification allows for The Emirates Group to deliver in-house solutions, and meet the

demands of its passenger transport business, despite such solutions not being directly involved in

passenger transportation (Redpath, O'Connel, & Warnock-Smith, 2017). Furthermore through

economies of diversification and economies of scale, the Emirates Group have grown its

subsidiaries to cater to the needs of their parent company while also generating revenue by
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 11

supplying the needs of their competitors, ultimately serving to make its subsidiaries more cost

effective, strengthening their strategic positions and develop tangible returns to the core-business

(Redpath, O'Connel, & Warnock-Smith, 2017; G.Berger & Ofek, 1995).

(Hitt, Hoskisson, & Kim, 1997) have shown that innovation and firm performance can benefit from

a careful and thorough implementation of a diversification strategy into a related business of the

firm’s core competency. (Redpath, O'Connel, & Warnock-Smith, 2017) formally segments the

benefits to include the mitigation of financial risk, marketing power and knowledge gain.

5.3.1 MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL RISK

Through the diversification of its corporate structure, The Emirates Group has distributed its

financial risk and costs among its various business units as described by (Lubatkin & Rogers,

1989). For example, much of the associated costs and infrastructure for cargo operations

overlap with those required for passenger transport, thus mitigating the overall exposure to

financial risk and collapsing operational costs over two independent revenue streams (Redpath,

O'Connel, & Warnock-Smith, 2017).

5.3.2 MARKETING POWER

(Pakneiat, Panahi, & Noori, 2010) concluded that the establishment of a brand umbrella allows

firms to enter new markets expeditiously despite a firms relative inexperience in said new

market primarily due to the strength of its central brand. The Emirates Group have benefited

heavily through diversification based on its perceived prestige and now provide freight

transport, maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO), catering and information technology (IT)

and Leisure Management services

THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 12

5.3.3 KNOWLEDGE GAIN

The Emirates Group is able to transfer knowledge among its business units as demonstrated by

(Heracleous, Wirtz, & Menkhoff, 2007). The Emirates group benefits through the transfer of

learning among its subsidiaries through staff rotation which mitigates the negative

consequences of compartmentalization, and allows employees to develop a greater perspective

and knowledge regarding the business unit as a single entity.

5.3.4 CASE EXAMPLES

Take for example Emirates’ SkyCargo division, the world’s largest international cargo airline by

available freight tonne kilometre, which has been steadily expanding its business in a shrinking

global freight transport market (SkyCargo, 2014). In 2016 SkyCargo reported revenues of US$ 3

billion and contributed 14% of transport revenues (The Emirates Group, 2016b). It remains The

Emirates Group largest non-core business unit (Redpath, O'Connel, & Warnock-Smith, 2017).

The success of SkyCargo has been attributed to its strategy of centralizing core functions,

autonomy and aggressive cost reduction strategies which have expedited its speed to market

allowing it to outmanoeuvre competitors. However, SkyCargo is still heavily dependent on

excess capacity within aircraft configured for passenger operations although a shift to a pure

freighter fleet and transfer to the new Dubai World Central airport are set to mitigate such

limitation (Redpath, O'Connel, & Warnock-Smith, 2017).

With respect to destination and leisure management (DLM) The Emirates Group have invested in

dnata Travel and Emirates Holidays which act as a tour operator to generate added value by
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 13

acting as a direct, in house sales channel. dnata travel reported revenues of almost US$ 9

million (The Emirates Group, 2016b). While DLM provides healthy revenues, it is not a

significant source for the Emirates Group, instead The Emirates Group DLM strategies have

several tangible and non-tangible benefits which includes the elimination of service level

agreements with third party providers, Global Distribution System (GDS) usage fees and agent

commissions. Furthermore the selected strategy creates a more customer centric experience

(The Emirates Group, 2016b).

5.4 GLOBAL OPERATIONS

Unlike many of their competing firms, Emirates have made public their reservation regarding their

participation in airline alliances such as SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld. Negative effects of

alliances arise in gateway-to-gateway markets where fares tend to rise due to a reduction in

competition (Brueckner & Whalen, 1998). Instead, Emirates participates in 22 codeshare and 113

interline agreements to extend the reach of their global network (The Emirates Group, 2017c).

Emirates has also entered into a partnership with local low cost carrier Flydubai. The partnership

allows each firm to leverage the others’ network in an effort to scale operations and fuel

expansion (Kaminksi-Morrow, 2017). The partnership provides Flydubai connectivity to Emirates’

long haul network while Emirates itself benefits from Flydubai’s regional coverage.

Geopolitical events within the Gulf region have placed significant pressure against the growth of

Emirates. In an interview, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of Emirates

admitted to significant challenges regarding Brexit, currency devaluation and American travel

bans leading to a drop in passenger loads to five American destinations (Scott, 2017). Therefore,
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 14

Emirates has no near-term plans to extend service to the United States. Instead, it is assessing the

feasibility of opening new routes to China, India and Africa

5.5 E-COMMERCE

As protectionist policies within the aviation industry decline, the competition within has

drastically increased with many flag carriers struggling to survive despite their historic dominance.

Airlines have thus begun to investigate alternative strategies of improving revenue and achieving

independence from travel agencies. The emergence of e-commerce has now presented a

powerful option in which such airlines can increase sales with a reasonable return on investment

(Sastre, Baeza, & Volpe, 2017). The following section will address certain strategies The Emirates

Group has employed to enhance its growth potential.

(Sastre, Baeza, & Volpe, 2017) have demonstrated the importance of social networks with respect

to the aviation industry. Twitter for example, a popular social media platform, has emerged as a

preferred customer service platform which has gradually reduced the need to staff large call

centers, something The Emirates Group has readily taken advantage of by hastily responding to

customer questions and concerns directed via Twitter. While not an official medium for formal

complaints, the use of Twitter allows staff to expeditiously respond to and facilitate access to

various helpful links addressing customers’ queries (Sastre, Baeza, & Volpe, 2017). Yet another

important aspect regarding e-commerce is the development of brand loyalty and recognition.

Over half of marketing budgets are typically allocated to brand loyalty (Sastre, Baeza, & Volpe,

2017). In the recent past, The Emirates Group developed its Facebook page to further increase its

social media footprint. The move was intended to develop an emotional connection with
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 15

customers and attract a wider audience to position itself as a prestigious and cosmopolitan carrier

(Sherman, 2011).

The Emirates Group is very well aware of the importance of brand loyalty and has heavily invested

in its Skywards Rewards program allowing its customers to spend loyalty points on airline tickets,

upgrades from economy to business or first class, hotel bookings, culture and sporting events

tickets or even donate them to charitable causes. Skywards has fifteen airline partners including a

strategic partnership with Qantas offering its members access to a large network of global travel

destinations. The Skywards program is also partnered with forty nine hotel brands and six car

rental firms, all of which serve to improve customer experience and fluidity (The Emirates Group,

2017c). The Emirates Group has also heavily invested in the recent redesign of its air travel

website. The new module based website offers extensive language selection, adaptation of user

display based on language selection and centralized information (Sastre, Baeza, & Volpe, 2017).

6. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT AND FUTURE GROWTH

The heart of The Emirates Group business model is its commitment to international competition support of

an open sky policy and opposition to state protectionism. An open skies policy increases market access for

exporters and passengers; it is an agreement between two nations to allow carriers to operate freely

between the parties involved in the agreement. Similarly, The Emirates Group is neither affiliated nor a

member of any airline alliance as such alliances are viewed by The Emirates Group as anti-competitive.

In an effort to further its growth, The Emirates Group has entered into open skies agreements with many

nations including China, Canada, the European Union India and the United States, highlights of

aforementioned agreements are listed below

THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 16

6.1 CANADA

Emirates began operations into Canada in 2007 and currently operates three weekly flights

between Dubai and Toronto. This is the maximum number of weekly flights permissible under the

current Air Transport Agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Canada established in

1999. To date, the agreement has remained unchanged although Emirates has made attempts to

renegotiate the frequency entitlements and expand to cities such as Calgary and Vancouver on

numerous occasions with no success (The Emirates Gruop, 2017d).

6.2 CHINA

The Emirates Group launched service to China in 2004 and now operates thirty nine flights a week

between Dubai and five Chinese destinations. Emirates however is limited by restrictions placed

in the air service agreements between the UEA and China. IATA projects that international traffic

to and from China will grow rapidly and Emirates is exploring options utilizing its A380 fleet to

balance passenger growth and air and ground infrastructure constraints (The Emirates Group,

2016g).

6.3 EUROPEAN UNION

As it does in other regions, The Emirates Group advocates for aviation liberalization within the

European Union (EU) and has openly supported the establishment of a free trade agreement

between the EU and The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries comprising Bahrain, Kuwait,

Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. There is however, European opposition mounting against

an Emirates expansion into cities such as Berlin and Stuttgart as Lufthansa feels threatened by the

Emirates’ expansion into Europe. Thus it has proven difficult for The Emirates Group to amend

their service agreement to include additional European destinations.

THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 17

6.4 INDIA

The current bilateral agreement with India severely limits Emirates’ growth potential within the

subcontinent. International passenger growth at Delhi and Mumbai were 11.6% and 10.2%

however, since Emirates is restricted to 54,200 seats per week between these two cities its

passenger growth rate in Delhi and Mumbai was only 6.8% and 1.3% respectively, far below the

average growth rate (The Emirates Group, 2015f).

6.5 THE UNITED STATES

Although the UAE and the USA experience amicable trade relations, American legacy carriers have

levied allegations against The Emirates Group of benefiting from government subsidies, fuel

hedging contracts, minimal airport infrastructure and usage fees and cheap labor. Several

interests groups have lobbied the Trump administration to curb Emirates’ expansion into the

United States.

7. CONCLUSION

The Emirates Group provides domestic, regional and international air transportation services. Its primary

focus revolves around flight services, ground handling, catering, IT solutions, engineering tour operation

and cargo support. It has experienced tremendous growth in its past. Its model of long hails flights to a

single hub based in a geographically advantageous position has brought enormous growth and profits. It

benefits from operating a young fleet offering low maintenance and fuel costs. Its success is based on

providing a consistently best in class travel experience for all customers.

 THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 18

APPENDIX

Question Page(s)/Paragraph(s)/Section(s)

Introduce the various topics that will be addressed in the research paper. 2/All/Introduction
Identify the method(s) that will be used to collect the data for the topics and
how that data will be evaluated.

Brief discussion of the firm to include its principle goods and services, market 2/All/Company Overview
share, geographic locations where it operates, and major competitors.

Evaluate the firm’s leadership and management philosophies. 5/All/Leadership and Management Philosophies

Evaluate human resource management policies. This includes any recent 6/All/Human Resource Management Philosophies
labour disputes, the use of the local area labour market, and recruitment
strategies.

Describe and discuss the organizational design and describe any marketing 5/1/Marketing Strategies
strategies for your firm.
14/2/E-Commerce

Discuss how your firm manages cultural and ethical issues throughout the 7/All/Local Labor Market, HRM and Ethical Concerns
world.
9/All/Environmental and Community Contributions

Describe and analyze any recent or ongoing strategies related to global 15/All/Political Environment And Future Growth
operations for your firm. Examples include expanding operations to other
geographic areas, entry modes into markets, or strategies to increase market
share for their goods or services.

Evaluate the company's e-commerce initiatives and discuss whether or not 13/All/E-commerce
these strategies have enhanced the growth of the firm.

Discuss the political environment for your firm and its effect on import/exports 3/3/Company Overview
of the principal goods or services. This discussion could include trade blocs,
trade barriers and/or regional trade agreements. 3/1 & 4/Competitors Challenges and Opportunities

13/3/Global Operations

15/All/Political Environment And Future Growth

The discussion should provide a brief summary of the previous sections and 17/All/Conclusion
the conclusions you have reached.
THE EMIERATES GROUP – AN OVERVIEW 19

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Begum, R. (2014). I Already Bought You: Abuse and Exploitation of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the

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Brueckner, J. K., & Whalen, W. T. (1998). The Pros and Cons of Airline Alliances. Institute of Government and

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quarterly-profits-but-many-strategic-strengths-183230

Chapman, G. (2016). The Corporate Resonsibility (CR) Policy. Retrieved May 8, 2018, from dnata:

https://www.dnata.com/en/media/dnata-CR-Policy-Final_tcm27-5029.pdf

Dudley, D. (2017, December 7). Rising Competition Threatens Profits Of Middle East Airlines. Forbes, p. 2017.

G.Berger, P., & Ofek, E. (1995). Diversification's effect on firm value. Journal of Financial Economics, 37(1), 39-65.

Geringer, M., Tallman, S., & Olsen, D. (n.d.). Product and International Diversification among Japanese

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