Dubai-based airline Emirates has seen a relatively strong year, said Menen. "The numbers are going up. But when you compare it with previous years, you don't see a spike of growth, it's a more balanced, straight growth line."
"There was a bit of a slack period in August and September. This was to do with various factors, from inventory replenishment to a poor demand base and the uncertainty of the dollar and yuan disparity."
And Menen doesn't expect costs to come down. He said: "The only way we can improve our costs is to become more energy efficient. I think the positive side of the crisis for the industry is that it is becoming more efficient."
"Overall, we need to do the same kind of volumes we have been doing, and the market is moving with our expectations, so we are not panicking."
He added that despite a weaker peak season, yields are still holding up.
However, there has been some delay in the carrier's B747-8 freighter programme, and new capacity that was supposed to come in, hasn't arrived yet.
Emirates currently has as many as 202 aircraft on order, which include nine optional freighters.
However, Menen believes there is no threat of overcapacity, as many of the aircraft will be deployed on longhaul flights, which he says, have a negative effect on payload.
He added: "A lot of the old capacity that has been parked-up is not going to come back in a hurry. The old aircraft, like DC-10s and B747-8s, will probably remain parked."
Menen expects the traditional lanes to remain strong, with some others getting stronger.
"I think places like Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India are going to be hotspots. South American markets are also likely to be strong, especially Brazil. And China will regain its strength, especially with the US."
The company's half-year results are very robust.
Emirates' Chairman and CEO, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, said: "We continue to invest our profits in growing the business, and our healthy financial position enables us to successfuly meet all of our financial commitments and raise financing for future aircraft deliveries."
Emirates SkyCargo saw its revenue increase by 48%, to Dh4.4 billion (US$1.2bn), with tonnage up 23.7% to 897,000 tonnes, compared with 725,000 tonnes in the same period last year.
|
