'We offer a vast array of options to Pakistani customers'

In an exclusive interview through email, Khalid Bardan Vice President - Commercial Operations Pakistan & Afghanistan (Emirates Airline) informed Wasim Iqbal, senior reporter Business Recorder, that Pakistan is a popular destination for major airlines. He maintained that Emirates operates its flagship A380 on three out of four routes to China and is giving Pakistani passengers an opportunity to explore business ventures there. He further said that Emirates' latest destination in Pakistan is Sialkot.
Business Recorder: What are the factors that have contributed significantly towards the success of Emirates in Pakistan?
Khalid Bardan: Emirates has always believed in delivering top quality, world class services to its customers, not just in Pakistan but all over the world. We see Pakistan as a very important market for Emirates - that is evident from the fact that there are now five cities in Pakistan where Emirates offers services including Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore and Sialkot.
BR: How do you see the Pakistan aviation market evolving and what are your plans to maintain your competitive edge in Pakistan?
KB: The aviation market in Pakistan is very competitive. Pakistan is a popular destination for major carriers and you can perhaps judge that from the fact that how busy the airports in the country are! In such an environment, we want to make sure that we provide our customers with legitimate reasons to prefer our services over others.
BR: Emirates has started flight services to China. How do you think the Beijing flight will help boost trade between Pakistan and China? What will be the benefits to Pakistani passengers in terms of trade and business as well as leisure travel?
KB: At Emirates, we recognise the fact that China and Pakistan share a very strong trade relationship. Our flight services to Beijing, which commenced in 2006, will facilitate businessmen and traders in Pakistan to travel to and from China with our world class service. The flight runs twice daily from Dubai giving the luxury to Pakistani passengers to choose their schedule as per their convenience - something that has always been Emirates' utmost priority.
BR: What services will travellers between Pakistan and China enjoy with Emirates---particularly the in-flight services?
KB: Emirates operate its flagship A380 on three out of four routes to China: Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai - giving Pakistani passengers an opportunity to enjoy a seamless Emirates A380 experience. The A380 aircraft offers exquisite offerings such as private suites and shower spas in First Class, flat-bed seats and an onboard Lounge in Business Class and a new generation of comfort in Economy Class. All classes feature ICE, Emirates' onboard information, communication and entertainment system offering up to 1,500 entertainment channels, making flights to Beijing pass smoothly.
BR: Emirates recently launched flight service to Sialkot - the industrial hub of Pakistan and now Beijing. What are your future plans for facilitating business and trade in Pakistan?
KB: Pakistan is an important market for us and we continue exploring opportunities as to how we can facilitate trade and business travellers in the country. Emirates' latest addition in Pakistan is Sialkot, which is a key manufacturing base particularly for sports goods and clothing, gloves, surgical instruments, cutlery, ceramics and leather garments. All in all, passenger and cargo service expansion in Pakistan is something we continually work upon as we realise the massive potential of the Pakistani markets. The ultimate objective is to provide world class service to Pakistani passengers and facilitate their business and/or leisure travel.
BR: Give us details about airlifting cargo on the China route.
KB: To facilitate Pakistani businessmen and traders further, Emirates also runs a world class cargo service to China. Emirates' cargo destination in China is Shanghai which is operational since 2002.The cargo service offers fast and convenient airport-to-airport transportation of all goods.
The cargo flight to Sialkot offers business and traders in Pakistan the perfect facility to manage their logistic requirements with Emirates. With the addition of Sialkot, Emirates now offers 1,400 tonnes of cargo to Pakistan weekly, giving a 5% boost to cargo capacity. From 2007 until 2012, Emirates carried 108,000 tonnes of cargo on its belly-hold flights to its four gateways in Pakistan: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
BR: Airports in Pakistan could not cater to Emirates A380 flights. Yours comments?
KB: Emirates' A380 is already popular among Pakistani travellers around the world connecting through our Dubai hub to one of our current 26 A380 destinations.
We know that our customers in Pakistan are eager to try our A380 services directly from Pakistan; however, any decision to deploy an A380 on our network is dependent on passenger demand on that particular route as well as the ability of airports to handle the aircraft.
BR: Emirates airline has immediate connections to world-wide destinations from Dubai. If you need to travel outside Pakistan or wish to travel to Pakistan you can check with Emirates airline for connections. Do have any plan to further improve this connectivity?
KB: Emirates offer a vast array of options to Pakistani customers to experience travelling to destinations all around the world via Dubai. Emirates operate five weekly flights on the route between Peshawar and Dubai. We also offer five daily flights between Karachi and Dubai, eleven times a week between Lahore and Dubai and eleven flights to Islamabad every week from Dubai. The fifth route to Pakistan from Sialkot became operational from November 5, 2013. Emirates operate four weekly flights from Sialkot with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft in a two-class configuration, comprising of Business Class and Economy Class. Following the addition of the Sialkot route, 66 Emirates flights will operate on weekly basis between Pakistan and Dubai, giving Pakistani customers the chance to enjoy our frequency and travel according to their convenience.
Emirates also boasts a wide network of destinations in the United States including flight service to Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington. The latest US destination to be added to the network on 5th August, 2014 to be Chicago, with Emirates set to offer a daily flight service from Dubai to the beautiful city.
BR: What is the importance of Pakistan as a station to Emirates?
KB: Emirates and Pakistan share 28 years special relationship when its first ever flight from Dubai landed in Karachi on 25th October 1985. Since then, this historic partnership blossomed with Emirates offering world-class services to Pakistan's major cities including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and most recently, Sialkot.