Adnan Kazim is the Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Airlines. In this interview with SHOLA ADEKOLA, he spoke on the planned resumption of the UAE carrier to Nigeria in October and what Nigerian travellers should expect:
EMIRATES will be coming back to Nigeria in October, what are your plans?
Our plan is to be linking back in the area of starting Dubai-Lagos daily from October. This is something we are looking forward to for sure. It is something that we always have a lot of history behind. We are not new to the market. I am sure we are opening up new options, opportunities and new gateways for passengers to travel to Dubai and it is very important for Nigerians and even Emirates which is quite important by complementing each other and having a way forward.
In your years of absence, other carriers have filled the void: How do you intend to get back the market?
Emirates is a well known brand and name. We are coming in to bring in the value around and the network that Emirates has which is over 140 destinations. We are coming in with brand and the quality that we sell. Onboard, we are coming in and having in Dubai which is quite an important hub, offering seamless connectivity to the passengers. We have many loyal customers around our Skyworld members; they are waiting for that moment to happen. We are bringing in the value that the market is expected to get and we believe that with all these that I mentioned being closer to the consumer is something that definitely will be our task and we are confident that we will be regaining our position in a matter of time.
Visa is an issue, can Nigeria get assurance that they will henceforth get visa to Dubai?
Well, I would say that I leave that to the government to handle. I cannot speak on their behalf. One thing I am sure of is that a lot of Nigerians who live in Dubai have permanent visas and a lot of people that travel beyond Dubai don’t require visa. A portion of Nigerians can still be able to travel in that they are boarding because they have permanent visa of Dubai but there are others that are residents of Dubai. I am sure they will be able to travel including visit visas and I leave government to comment on that.
How competitive would your fare be and are we still going to enjoy better fares from Emirates on its return?
For us, you always need to look at more capacity entering into any market, that will balance back and kind of having that back by having many carriers operating on a route. Emirates has been there; definitely, we will bring capacity to the market. As far as the fare is concerned, it is the question of demand and supply and new fares will pop up. I cannot give details around this topic but one thing that I am sure of is that always new comers, new capacities coming to the market is good for the consumer as far as that is concerned.
What aircraft type are you deploying to Nigeria?
It is going to be B777-300ER and with three classes that carry 360 seaters with business class, First Class and Economy that will be deployed to that route. It has tonnes of cargo. The type of demand that will come in initially for cargo and passengers.
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