Q: Dean, what was the main aim of your ‘Down Under in Dubai’ mega famil?
A: It was to target agents who have an influence in their business and to show them the new Dubai, because it’s a destination that continually evolves.
We’ve targeted travel partners, both from Australia and New Zealand, who’ve either never been to Dubai, or who have been here some time ago.
We’re just trying to bring Dubai to the fore again, because as we all know, it’s primarily a stopover destination for Australians and New Zealanders. So we’re just trying to underline that it’s the premier stopover destination en route to Europe, Africa, etc.
Q: You’ve also highlighted that Dubai is more than just a stopping point these days.
A: Correct. That’s what it’s traditionally been, but over the years it’s evolved to the point that it is now a destination in its own right.
Whether you’re a foodie, whether you’re bringing the kids, whether you just want to sample the world class beaches and resorts. There is literally something here for everybody.
And the average stay now is about six nights for Australians and they will come at any time of the year so it’s definitely not a two-night stop anymore.
Q: This mega famil clearly highlights how important the Australian market continues to be for Emirates?
A: It always has been and it’s a market that continues to grow. We released premium economy two years ago and Australia was one of the first markets to get that because it was designed for our long haul markets.
Adelaide will get the new A350 on December 1 and the majority of flights out of Australia have now all got reconfigured, retrofitted aircraft with premium economy. So it is a very important market and we put a lot of emphasis on Australia.
Above: Dean (red shirt) with his Emirates team and Shahab Shayan, Dubai Tourism
A: It would seem from this initiative that travel agents are still very important to Emirates.
Q: Absolutely. They’ve always been important in Australia and the participants on this trip represent the whole spectrum as far as segments are concerned – we’ve got corporate, we’ve got leisure, we’ve got wholesale.
The Australian market is very varied and agents sell destinations globally, they sell all classes and they sell all segments. So the 130 participants we’ve got here are reflective of all of that.
Q: What kind of feedback have you been getting from those on the trip?
A: I think bringing up 130 in one hit has been very successful and the feedback we’ve had so far is that everybody has been blown away by the variety Dubai offers.
It’s certainly broken a lot of myths and shows how open and tolerant the people of Dubai are.
They’ve also learned a lot about the destination – it’s not all glass and gold – there’s plenty of history and culture. It’s a destination from the past, but it’s certainly a destination for the future.
Q: Looking globally for a moment, how is the airline faring?
A: We’re trying to grow as quickly as we can but we are enjoying great success at the moment and our recent six month results reflected that, which was very pleasing, especially when we are facing some global constraints, both politically and in terms of aircraft supply.
Q: Finally, for those who haven’t flown Emirates, what sets you apart from your competitors?
A: I think it’s because the quality of our product is consistent and we keep evolving it.
For example, we’ve got supply chain issues with both Airbus and Boeing and the new aircraft aren’t arriving as quickly as we would like, so we’re spending $US5 billion to make sure that we’re upgrading our existing product in the meantime.
But generally I think we’re very consistent, we’ve got a great network, we’re profitable and we’re safe.
We’re a global airline that happens to be based in Dubai but everything we do is all about value and quality.
