Tag Archives: Essa Sulaiman Ahmad

Continuing with its agenda to inspire the spirit of sportsmanship among the travel trade, Emirates Airlines will organise the third edition of its ‘Emirates Cricket Trade Tournament 2018’ for the travel trade in November in Mumbai. The League matches will be held on November 17-18, 2018 and the semi-final and final matches will be on November 24-25, 2018 at Islam Gymkhana. The cricket trophy was also unveiled in a pre-event networking event where it invited all the team members. Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, VP-India & Nepal, Emirates, was present at the networking party and wished the players all the best. The matches will be powered by DTCM, Amadeus and Reckon Travels & Holidays. The previous edition played in 2016 had 416 players in 32 teams playing 45 games over four days over two weekends.

Biji Eapen, National President, IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), has written a letter to Emirates addressed to its Vice President – India & Nepal, Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, requesting him to reconsider the airline’s decision to cut agency commission. The letter reads, ‘…the proposed action clearly contradicts your statement in the opening paragraph of the referred letter – that the travel agents are your “prime strategic distribution channel.” Especially as it is only their market support over the years that has placed Emirates in a dominant position above the national carrier.’ The letter then outlines the hardships that agents go through to sell Emirates, ‘Agents have over the years taken care of your sales and marketing, generating thousands of crores of rupees worth of business by risking huge amounts in the market, maintaining well-manned offices, canvassing for clients and servicing all their travel requirements, obtaining overdrafts to make the airline payments and paying interests at high rates on such borrowings.’

Another large international airline has decided to cut its distribution expenses by revising its travel agent commission from the current three per cent to one. In a letter issued to the travel agents and signed by Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Vice President – India and Nepal, Emirates, the airline states, ‘…volatility has become the new normal in global aviation. Market, industry and customer dynamics add to the complexity of our business. So as the world economy and industry changes, so are we. Effective April 1, 2017, Emirates in India will revise the standard IATA commission  from current 3% to 1%. All tickets issued prior to April 1, 2017, will continue to attract the current 3% standard commission. We do understand that this move may require a change in your business model, but we hope together, we can emerge better and bigger.’ The letter ends with ‘Assuring you of our support at all times’.

Emirates Airline customers flying to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can now apply for a visa using their mobile devices. In a first-of-its-kind initiative in visa application, applicants anywhere in the world can use the mobile app, launched by Dubai Visa Processing Centre (DVPC), to complete the entire visa application process for UAE visa using mobile devices. The transactional app involves one-time profile creation, and allows data and document upload, payment and service delivery. Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, VP (India & Nepal), Emirates, said, “The launch of the mobile app will allow our customers in India an even more convenient way to apply and complete their entire visa process through their phones. At Emirates, we are always looking for initiatives to enhance our customers’ experience online.” Vinay Malhotra, COO-South Asia and DVPC, VFS Global, added, “We are in a constantly evolving environment in terms of developing best-in-class technologies, and with this app, we aim to deliver exceptional levels of service and enhanced convenience for travellers. The DVPC mobile app will serve as a one-stop shop for UAE visa applicants, offering users an end-to-end platform for UAE visa applications.” Smartphone and tablet users can download the free DVPC mobile App from Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store. Customised versions of the app are available for iOS and Android devices. Through the app, passengers can apply for the 96-hours, 30-days or 90-days single entry visas, based on their Emirates itinerary. Customers may apply up to 4 international working days in advance of their Emirates flight departure date.