Half a century after Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former Ruler of Dubai, saw an opportunity to generate capital to build an airport for Dubai through airline ticketing, the Dubai National Air Travel Agency – Dnata – is celebrating its 50th anniversary and steadily climbing the ladder to become the world’s leading travel solutions company.
On the golden jubilee, Iain Andrew, divisional senior vice president Dnata Travel Services (DTS) commented: “We have a strong network, both individually owned and with our partners, which now covers 20 countries across the Middle East, North and West Africa.
“We have also developed an extensive and diverse portfolio of brands catering to every aspect of the travel industry, from offshore and marine services to tour operations and from award-winning contact centres to award-winning destination management services.”
The company was founded in 1959 when the Dubai government announced plans to nationalise airline ticketing where all tickets issued on Dubai territory would be cleared through a new entity, Dnata.
At the same time Sheikh Rashid ordered the building of the airport which opened in 1960, with just a handful of staff.
By 1981 Dnata had become GSA for 22 airlines, handling 55,000 movements and 57,000 tonnes of cargo. Dnata had 14 retail outlets and issued 600,000 tickets that year.
By 1995, Dnata was the GSA for 28 airlines, and Dnata Cargo signed four new GSA contracts. Dnata recorded a 13.7 per cent increase in passenger traffic and a 25.6 per cent increase in cargo handled and its turnover passed the $100 million mark for the first time.
In the 2001-02 financial year, 13.8 million passengers passed through Dubai International Airport and the volumes of cargo handled rose from 429,089 tonnes to 635,298 tonnes.
Forty years after it was founded, in 2003, Dnata unveiled a new identity projecting an image of modernity and global reach for the new century ahead. By 2004-5, Dnata had over 8,000 employees and handled over 90,000 aircraft and 22 million passengers.
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Dubai International control tower |
By 2007 Dnata added to its portfolio its luxury hotels arm to offer sales, marketing and PR to some of the world’s most luxurious hotels in the Middle East market and last year the company opened its 50th Dnata Travel Services outlet plus a regional office in Bahrain and its first international Holiday Lounge in Kuwait.
Boosted by its 50 years of travel experience in the Middle East and unrivalled network of partners, the company is looking ahead to grow its portfolio of businesses and to further expand its regional presence, focusing on key established and emerging markets.
“We will continue to develop our strong relationship with HRG Worldwide, working together closely and co-operatively as we have always done. We also plan to grow our investment with global contact centre outsource organisation The Mindpearl Group - of which we currently own a 49 per cent stake,” said Andrews.