By Manik Mehta, Munich, AJOTEmirates SkyCargo, the cargo division of Emirates airline, has not only overcome the downturn of the economic crisis year 2009 but has emerged “stronger than before” backed by a strong global economic recovery. Ram Menen, Emirates’ senior vice president (cargo), sounded “very bullish” at the recent Transport/Logistics 2011 show in Munich. “In fact, recovery started sometime in September or October 2009. We saw it (recovery) coming then,” Menen said in an interview with the American Journal of Transportation at the Munich show. “However, China slackened somewhat in September/October 2010. We noticed this slackness not only in China but also in Malaysia, Cambodia and elsewhere. But Indonesia and the Indian subcontinent have been doing well,” he added. Menen was “quite pleased” with the North American market. “US exports are doing well though imports have been slow, thanks, mainly, to the depreciating US dollar which is helping the country’s exports. Latin American air-trade remains buoyant. Germany and France are doing well too. Nonetheless, Greece and Portugal are of concern to us. In view of this, our forecast is that the global aircargo growth would be between 4 and 6% this year,” Menen said. Rising oil prices, meanwhile, are sending jitters to the airline industry. “Higher oil prices have a slowing effect on the airline business,” Menen admonished. Dubai, the headquarters of Emirates, is located in a region that is passing through turmoils popularly euphemized as the “Arab spring”. Playing down the problems that are enveloping the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Menen said that Bahrain, Tunisia and Egypt are opening up their borders. Developments taking place in the region need to be “managed”- The turmoils, according to Menen, were over. “People have to live on. We don’t know how things will end in Syria. Libya is another chapter but once this is over, we are going to see opportunities there,” he predicted. Menen was upbeat about Dubai which was benefiting from its “geocentric location”. “As the economies of Africa grow, we will benefit too. Africa is becoming the ‘world’s garden’, supplying large volume of fruits, vegetables, flowers and other perishables,” Menen said. On the other hand, Japan’s earthquake and tsunami followed by the atomic power station explosions have had a devastating impact on the country’s trade during the past six weeks. “Japan is, obviously, a worry for us. Nobody actually realized how important Japan was for the supply of parts and components until we saw the disruptions. Indeed, factories in many countries depend heavily on Japanese supplies. We at Emirates did face uncertainties over Japan’s supplies but we know that the Japanese are a resilient people. The Japanese also have their own subcontractors in several countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, etc., who can step in to fill the breech,” Menen argued. The growing assertiveness of other competing Gulf-based airlines such Etihad, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, etc. did not not, particularly, worry Emirates. “We are in a huge world market where there is room for everyone,” he maintained. Describing the mood at the Munich show as “absolutely positive”, Menen spoke of the modernization of the Emirates’ fleet which, as of May 2011, comprised 145 passenger and eight freighter aircraft. The airine has placed orders for a total of 199 new aircraft worth over US$ 66 billion. Emirates SkyCargo saw a strong 27.6% increase in revenue to a record US$ 2.4 billion, thanks to a worldwide rebound in cargo traffic. Cargo tonnage increased in 2010 by 11.8% over the previous year to 1,767,000 tons. Freight yield, per FTKM (freight ton kilometer) increased by 11.3%. Cargo revenue accounted for some 17.4% of the airline’s total transport revenue which, Emirates claims, is one of the highest contributions of any airline in the world with a similar fleet. During the year, Emirates SkyCargo added four new freighter-only destinations, Almaty, Bagram