UK-based aviation services company HAE Group has much business activity in the Middle East which gives it a good perspective on business prospects in the region.

The Middle Eastern airfreight sector is currently navigating several significant challenges despite an overall positive growth outlook. How are you keeping afloat? 

Whilst we acknowledge the market is very competitive and a lot of capacity has come back into the market, we are lucky to represent one of the largest freighter fleets in the region in terms of DHL Aviation and airlines with expanding capacity in terms of Air Astana, Air Canada and Etihad as a GSA in the region.

We are also an air cargo solutions provider and therefore our GSA+ model allows customers to access a full range of services and means our airline partners get the opportunity to serve these products as well.

Can there be any more significant location for you in the region than Dubai? Have you any plans to expand office locations in the region? 

The UAE is a key home market for us, which also allows us to offer cross trade, interline and export and import services. We also have representation via agents in other GCC countries and have our own operations in Egypt. We are always keen to grow.

Which of your four carriers in Dubai is your most significant client? Are you on the lookout for any further clients at the moment? 

All our airline partners are significant. Each are diverse with regards their destinations and service offerings which gives us plenty of scope with customers across DXB, be they global freight forwarders and SMEs. We are always looking to expand our portfolio, and our deep understanding, of the ME/GCC region of not only the business landscapes but also the various cultures, allowing us to tailor services to clients from the region.

Do you consider your Egyptian operation as part of your Middle East or African markets/operations? 

Obviously, it is our North African HUB whilst providing an excellent gateway to move airfreight into the Middle East markets through our partner airlines.

How difficult is it to locate staff/labour in the UAE at present? 

We have never found this to be a challenge and HAE’s staff retention is also strong.

The Middle Eastern airfreight market is expected to grow significantly, with IATA projecting a 12.3% increase in cargo demand for 2024. Are you seeing this in your turnover/activity? 

We have had a very strong start to the year here in the UAE and are seeing the actual tonnage backing up the projections. The Middle East will always be very competitive due to its position as an ideal hub to feed into Africa, the GCC and most destinations globally direct. The current market reflects this with a lot of the world’s largest carriers based in the region and others offering significant capacity to multiple destinations, with multiple rotations. This makes maximising revenue and capacity extremely challenging on a week-to-week basis. We have also seen an increase in our interline activity, another key strand to how we can support our carrier partners.

Concerns over China’s economic performance and inflationary pressures in the US contribute to fluctuations in demand for air cargo for carriers operating in the Middle East. Is that your experience? 

Not really at this stage but things are so fluid globally we need to remain proactive and agile to changes in demand and always have our solutions in place.  For example the recent upswing in sea/air brings opportunity for companies such as ours.

What sort of tonnages are your airline clients sending out of Dubai?  Where are the major traffic flows going out of the UAE? 

We have seen a major increase in tonnages month-on-month across all our airlines we represent. Sea/air business remains the primary service and we are seeing large volume spikes increasing ex ISC and Asia via the ME region. However we are also seeing further developments with the traditional transit through the region moving towards uplift direct from origin to destinations.

Do you utilise Road Feeder Services in the region at all? 

Yes. Dubai is a key hub for transhipment cargo both sea and air and we offer both options ex DXB into GCC from LTL to FTL movements.

How long have you been established in Dubai? What staff levels have you got? Have you ever had another office in the Middle East which you have closed? 

We have been established in Dubai since 2006. We have eight staff covering commercial and operation requirements supported by our team of six ops and C/S staff in NBO who provide a variety of functions for us.

Do you circulate staff from EMA to DUB for operational reasons? 

No. However we trade and utilise expertise and knowledge from across the group through our own HAE online platform. We are unique in the fact that we have our own self developed Quote Management System – QMS. QMS allows us to share functions many companies do in country offshore for example, we do our sales and local customer service in country, we do our ops and data capture offshore and we do our solutions work in a variety of countries. This means we can quote quicker and be more productive than many in our industry.

What is your general opinion of the region as a source of business for HAE Group? 

It is extremely important The region continues to be a key strategic office and HUB for HAE.  We have a very strategic, important footprint that we have invested in for many years.  We have one of the largest presences for a global GSA company in the Middle East region and have built it over the past 15 years or so.  It allows us to service, and assist where required, both ME based carriers but also our interline airline partners wishing to establish services in the ME region. Our local knowledge both operationally and commercially is of significant value within the group and its offices globally.

Are there any other thought/observation on the Middle East for my report?

We are now also focused on AUH as a new transhipment point and hope to make announcements soon on how this can be of service to our customers.