DUBAI: May 15, 2019. Emirates SkyCargo continues to support the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) with the carriage this month of nearly 100 horses in a chartered B777 freighter from Belgium to Shanghai.
Working in conjunction with specialist shipper Peden Bloodstock, the equine showjumpers flew two per stall complete with hay trays and accompanied by in-flight vets and grooms.
In Shanghai, Danielle Goldstein from Israel won the Shanghai Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix. A delighted Ms.Goldstein, who won most of the €610,000 prize said: “We all come here with a mission and I feel I accomplished my mission today."
Riding the big-jumping mare Lizziemary (pictured), Danielle rocketed home as the fastest of nine top class combinations who had qualified from 35 starters for the jump-off in the fourth event of the Championship season. She becomes the first female rider to top the podium in Shanghai and won her debut golden ticket to the 2019 LGCT Super Grand Prix in Prague in November.
With the tournament now over, Emirates SkyCargo has returned Lizziemary and her fellow equine travellers safely back to Belgium.
Also this month, Emirates Group posted its 31st consecutive year of profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2019 of US$631 million, down 44 percent from last year, as revenue rose 7.0 percent to reach US$29.8 billion.
Group chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum commented: “2018-19 has been tough, and our performance was not as strong as we would have liked. Higher oil prices and the strengthened US dollar eroded our earnings, even as competition intensified in our key markets. The uptick in global airfreight demand from the previous year appears to have gone into reverse gear, and we also saw travel demand weaken, particularly in our region, impacting both dnata and Emirates.”
Despite the drop in global airfreight demand, Emirates SkyCargo continued its regular 14 percent contribution to total airline results with revenue of US$3.6 billion, an increase of 5.0 percent year-on-year, as tonnage carried rose 1.0 percent to 2.7 million. Yield per freight tonne-kilometre rose for the second year with an increase of 3.0 percent.
