Emirates has been busy in the past year. The Dubai-based airline inked a codeshare partnership with United, launched premium economy cabins in the U.S., became the global airline partner of the National Basketball Association and ordered 90 Boeing 777s. News editor Johanna Jainchill spoke with Emirates' divisional vice president for the U.S. and Canada, Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, about these initiatives and Emirates' love of sports.
Essa Sulaiman Ahmad
Q: Your codeshare with United launched almost a year ago. What has the impact been?
A: We've seen some good benefits for our customers, especially with the expanded U.S. network and beyond. We've seen some enhanced options for our customers and definitely an enhanced travel experience where customers use a single ticket, are able to get the baggage allowances, can fly seamlessly on both carriers. And the loyalty program is definitely very important. Customers on both our frequent flyer programs, Skywards and United MileagePlus, are able to earn and redeem miles. The partnership has given us more options for our own customers and given more options for United customers, as well. We're just trying to have a seamless travel experience for both.
Q: Emirates recently became the global airline partner of the NBA. You also have partnerships with the U.S. Open tennis tournament and other sports leagues worldwide. What makes the NBA different in terms of market reach?
A: The NBA is a very unique proposition. It's all about engaging with the global fan base and, specifically in the U.S., basketball is a sports culture that has kept growing. We have the first NBA referee jersey patch, and the in-season NBA Cup is named after Emirates. It shows how culturally diverse our customers are, because we have partnerships with tennis, horse racing, cricket, golf, cycling, sailing, basketball and maybe a few more that I've missed. It shows how important sports has been for Emirates. That's why we've been investing in it for the past 25 years. It was actually very exciting when we announced it in Indianapolis at the NBA All-Star game. It was just a hoot, and we had our travel trade partners with us to celebrate that milestone, so it was fun.
Q: How important are travel advisors to growing your U.S. business?
A: They are an extremely important partner for us. Even looking at technology advancements, people going online and using different platforms, travel agents are very integral to our business model. We rely on their expertise for our complicated destination mixes, plus they give us access to a diverse customer base.
Q: What was behind the extension of your Dubai-Miami flight to Bogota?
A: We always wanted to fly to Colombia, with it being the access to South America. It was a destination we wanted to extend to, and we had the option via Miami. We said, let's fly into Colombia and see how we can extend travel in and out of Bogota. We're giving options to our own customers flying into the region, making sure that Bogota is on their list, and vice versa, as well: Travelers from Bogota will see Miami to Dubai and beyond on our network.
Q: You debuted your premium economy cabin last May in the U.S. How has it performed?
A: Extremely well. When we announce something, we look at the minute details and every single aspect of it. So we were very particular with the product that we were bringing out. In the U.S. we have it on one of our JFK-Dubai flights and out of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston, as well. We're quite happy with the product and with the passenger notes we're getting. The more destinations we start with premium economy, it's just going to increase and make it even more popular.