EMIRATES SkyCargo has launched a new courier service, Emirates Courier Express, into Australia, having freshly inked a partnership deal with an Australian logistics & transport company.
Speaking at a media event in Sydney on Thursday (17th July), Dennis Lister, Senior Vice President of Product and innovation, announced the airline had signed a partnership with Team Global Express (TGE) to enable the ‘first and last mile’ of the service.
The courier express service is a door-to-door express parcel service, aimed primarily at small to medium businesses. Its strength, according to Mr Lister, is in utilising Emirates’ existing passenger flight schedule to and from Australia, which he believes will serve Australia faster “than any other express company in the world” and, together with the partnership with TGE, will cover the entirety of the country, from launch.
Mr Lister, who described his role at Emirates as ‘to build products that are bold, interesting and something that the market needs” emphasised that Australia was always going to be a natural and important market for the service, expressing that Australia is ‘logistically underserved’.
On the decision to partner with TGE, Mr Lister said the logistics company ‘came up as number one’ for them, aligning with both their ‘value proposition and product offering’. On sustainability, he said it is a "super important topic" for Emirates noting their own investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and fleet renewal, and stating that working with TGE - who are investing heavily in electric vehicles - meant that the partnership was aligned ‘perfectly’ in this regard.
“Every package we can deliver with fewer handoffs, fewer warehouses, and fewer transport legs is a win for both the customer and the planet,” said Mr Lister. “That’s where our network strength and TGE’s capabilities really come together.”
Speaking more broadly about Emirates SkyCargo’s role in the global supply chain, Mr Lister noted that there was an increasing shift to multi-modal transport, referencing growing demand for sea-air routes, particularly from Asia, in times of capacity constraints.
“We’re seeing a significant uptick in ocean freight feeding into our Dubai hub, specifically through Jebel Ali Free Zone,” he said. “It acts as a true cross-dock - cargo arrives by sea, transfers efficiently into air, and then continues into Europe, the US, and as far as Canada.”
Mr Lister said this shift is being driven by larger-volume customers - particularly those moving heavy bulk freight - who are increasingly favouring multimodal options. “It provides better cost and faster time than traditional ocean-ocean routes,” he said.
As capacity tightens and economic pressures persist, Mr Lister said the appeal of sea-air continues to grow. “I see more and more of this” he said, noting that they are moving ‘in the region of 650 tonnes of sea-air through the hub”
Australia is clearly a key focus for Emirates as a growing air cargo market. Greg Johnson, Cargo Manager, Australia, recognised a particularly strong demand in the Middle East for Australian meat exports - and Abdullah Alkhallafi, Vice President Cargo Commercial, said that while countries like Saudi Arabia have strict requirements for meat imports, Emirates is well-equipped to meet them, thanks to its expertise in hot-climate operations - including "cool dollies" that protect sensitive cargo from heat exposure during transfers between aircraft and warehouse.
On the plans for Australia, Mr. Johnson said the airline currently operates 84 weekly passenger flights and three freighter services, moving over 75,000 tonnes of cargo in 2024 - a 28.2% year-on-year increase. By 2026, the airline aims to grow its freighter fleet from 17 to 21 aircraft.
And South Australia is set to play an important role in the roll out of Emirate’s new A350 aircraft. This December, Adelaide will become the first destination in Emirates’ global network to receive the new long-range aircraft. Mr. Johnson described the milestone as a true "point of pride" for the airline, adding, “I think that's a very strong signal of Emirates' long-term commitment to the Australian market.”