dnata’S international airPort oPerationS

Growing globally

Dnata’s international airport operations have steadilygrown to 16 airports in six countries. Stewart Angus talks aboutthe business unit’s success and future.

By Gg Ws-Pw

tewart Angus, the DivisionalSenior Vice President of Dnata’sinternational airport operations,looks relaxed and happy. And so heshould be; the section of Dnata he isresponsible for — the ground handlingoperations at 16 airports outside theUAE — have tripled their business inthe last three years.

Despite his relaxed demeanour Angusassures, “We’re working pretty hard.Dnata’s airport operations teams, inDubai and overseas, are turning roundan aircraft every 90 seconds, every hourof every day, somewhere in the world.”This is the 50th year of Dnatain Dubai but its overseas groundhandling operations didn’t reallyexist until the mid-90s when Dnataventured into Pakistan and then thePhilippines. These expansions pavedthe way for a major acquisition, in 2004,of a Singapore-based ground handlingcompany called CIAS. Fast forward to2009 and Dnata internationally nowhandles 16 destinations in six countries.

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“The first three acquisitions wereopportunistic,” Angus explains. “Twoand a half years ago, we made adeliberate decision to expand beyondDubai. So in 2007, we made fourinvestments overseas; [we acquired]a ground handling company inSwitzerland, another in China anda ground handling company and acatering company in Australia.”He has a simple reason for thissudden expansion: “Dnata hasa great model in Dubai and we sawthe opportunity to expand it. We wantedto take the skills and experience gainedhere and export it.”Dnata international now employs7,000 people and handles 160,000flights internationally a year. Groundhandling is the overall industry term forall the services an aircraft requires atits departure and destination airports.It includes every aspect of turning anaircraft around for its next flight, fromload sheets, which work out the correctweight balance to handling passengersand their baggage and commercialcargo. Dnata international’s clientsare not just the individual passengersbut also the airlines themselves whocontract them to look after theirlogistics on the ground.“When an aircraft flies anywhere,it’s not economically sound for theairlines to have their own staff atevery airport, so they tend to outsourcethese activities,” explains Angus. “Wehave about 80 airline clients at ouroverseas airports. We take a bit of anold fashioned view, which is if youdeliver good service and do it well at anhonest price, then people will come backto you. I don’t think we’ve lost a singlecustomer in the last three years.”Having worked in the aviationindustry for two decades, Angus hasbeen with Emirates Group since 1995and as part of his role, has driven thismore proactive approach to expansion.It was well timed, two years before thecurrent economic slowdown, the grouphad identified growth in particularmarkets but wanted to use 2008 asa year to consolidate its acquisitions— a prudent move that has worked inits favour.“We’d just grown our business ina very short time so we decided wewanted to manage what we had justacquired. We introduced commonstandards and that takes time toprocess. Buying a company is the easybit; the hard bit is running it well.So we took a decision to take step backand concentrate on getting the most outof the companies we had. It turned outto be a good decision.”Dnata international has boughtsome of the overseas companies, suchas Dnata Switzerland, outright whereaswith others, such as Toll in Australia,Dnata is a joint partner in running thebusiness. Angus explains the benefitsbehind this thinking,“When it comes to working witha partner, you want somebody whowill add value in a complimentaryway. To sustain the relationship, it will

S u p p l i e d b y D n a t a

Stewart Angus, Divisional Senior Vice President,Dnata’s international division

We take a bit of an old-fashioned view, which is ifyou deliver good serviceand do it well at an honestprice, then people willcome back to you.

NOVEMBER 200919

to be a small town and now it’sa huge city. Everything has changeddramatically, including the qualityof management and people’sprofessionalism,” says Angus. “For us,there has been a lot more automationin the business than there was 10years ago. Customer expectations havechanged. Our customers’ passengersexpect, quite rightly, to be checkedin promptly by friendly staff. Theyexpect the aircraft to be pushed backand depart on time; delays are notacceptable. The focus on quality hasbeen stepped up and enhanced, whichis a good thing.”

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No matter how well a company plansand implements its business strategies,there are always unforeseen hiccups.This year has thrown up the slowingof the economic climate and themuch-hyped swine flu, both of whichhave affected the aviation industry incompletely different ways. Angus isn’tflustered, he knows his brand can copewith whatever perceived crisis is nexton the radar.“The thing about this businessis, you know something unexpectedis always going to happen. That’s theonly thing you do know. It’s one of thereasons I love this business. In fact,there’s not a morning which goes bywhen you watch the news, and it won’thave some impact on our industrysomewhere in the world,” he says.“At the end of the day our job ishandling aircraft, so as long as they’reflying in and out, we will handle them.”Dnata international works alongside theairports in every country it operates into ensure that international standardsof safety and security are enforced,and as the world becomes a smallerplace these standards are very similaranywhere in the world.With an eye on growth markets andnew opportunities, Angus is aware thatthe time could be ripe to take advantagein the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.“That’s where we see the most growth inthe aviation market. According to futureprojections, the growth is two or threeper cent more than Europe or America;compound it over 10 years and that’s amajor shift.”“We’re recognised as a player,globally now. We are approached bypeople wanting to sell their companies,whereas three years ago that wouldn’thave happened as much,” says Angus.Even though Dnata internationalhas been busy investing in behindthe scenes automation, updatingits machinery, responding to newtechnological advances and keepingan eye on where to expand to next, ithasn’t forgotten its other customers–— the individual passengers travellingthrough its airports.“This year we’ve opened a newlounge in Zurich airport and we’ve also just opened a new lounge in Genevaairport. Our Singapore lounge has beenextended and will be relaunched atthe end of the year. Those are tangiblebenefits for passengers,” says Angus. “Atthe end of the day, it’s about people andgetting them from A to B as comfortablyas possible.”So 50 years on, Dnata internationalbelieves it is on top of its game, butStewart Angus is more than aware thatnow is not the time to get complacent.“Our long-term vision is very clear. Wewant to be recognised in the industryas the most respected player by ourcustomers, by our peers and by ourstaff. We don’t necessarily want tobe the biggest but we do want to bethe best.”

work better moving forward when yourecognise what each partner is bringingto the table. It’s like any relationship;you need to respect and value the other.”“If you look at our ground handlingpartner in Australia, Toll, they aremassive in their home country and haveplenty of experience in dealing with theAustralian marketplace and with thatcountry’s legislation — areas wherewe had less experience. So that’sa complementary relationship for us.”

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Despite the global downturn, Dnatainternational, due to its slow butsure approach to expansion, hasseen significant growth in its newacquisitions.“Both our ground handling andcatering operations in Australia havemore than doubled in size since ouracquisition. In Singapore, operationshave increased by about 30 per centin the last year and both China andthe Pacific areas continue to grow. Thebusiness we bought in Xian China, twoyears ago is up 20 per cent on last year,which reflects the growth in tourism inthat area,” says Angus proudly.Even the rise of low cost airlinecarriers has aided Dnata international’ssolidification of international business.Angus continues, “Low cost carriershaven’t so much taken market sharefrom us but opened up a new marketwith their cheap fares, increasingcustomers’ frequency of travel orencouraging new passengers to flywho might not have flown before. We’vewon some new clients who are low costcarriers, such as Air Asia in Singapore.”According to Angus, Dnatainternational’s global success can beattributed to a number of factors. Oneis keeping in mind the long-termpicture. It has acquired companies thatwon’t just offer a good rate of returnon its investment but ones where Dnatacan facilitate improvements and buildgood relationships. Another is soundinvestment. Despite the downturn,Dnata international has held its courseand invested heavily in its recentexpansion plans.

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“It’s very easy in difficult timesto not invest, but we’ve held our nerveand it’s paid off,” says Angus. Forexample, in Brisbane we’ve introducedan automated handling system withinthe cargo facility. We’ve investeda significant amount of money forground handling for the new AirbusA380 in Australia and Singapore. Thisbusiness can be quite capital intensive,but you’ve got to put your money whereyour mouth is!”The investments have paid off —six new customer contracts in Australiathis year and a similar numberin Singapore.Another area that has aided Dnatainternational’s phenomenal growthis its commitment to local knowledgeand culture. “Our approach is toembrace the local culture of thosecountries. So we have someone fromSingapore running our business inSingapore. They know the countryand infrastructure, so why would youchange that?” says Angus. “The keyto success is having the right peoplerunning all our companies. These arethe managing directors of each businesswho live their business 24 hours a day.”Dnata international has grownsynonymously with Dubai in the lastfew decades. During that time, theaviation industry has changed beyondall recognition. Dnata international hashad to adapt and excel. “Dubai used

dnata’S international airPort oPerationS

Pictures:supplied byDnata

Dnata International’s phenomenal growthis due to its commitment to local knowledgeand culture

Dnata international’s aim is tobe recognised in the industry as themost respected player by all