dnata

Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Arabic: دناتا‎) (commonly known as dnata) is an Emirati airport services provider which provides aircraft ground handling, cargo, travel, and flight catering services across five continents.

dnata
TypePrivate
IndustryGround Handling Industry
FoundedDubai [1]
Founder[1]
HeadquartersEmirates Group Headquarters, Al Garhoud,
Dubai
,
United Arab Emirates
Area served
84 countries[1]
Key people
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (Chairman/CEO)
Gary Chapman (President of Dnata)
ProductsAviation Services
OwnerPublic
ParentThe Emirates Group
Websitehttp://dnata.com

History

Dnata was established in 1959 in Dubai, UAE, with just five employees. The name originates as an acronym for ‘Dubai National Air Travel Agency’. It has grown significantly[2] with the first international expansion seen in 1993.

Global expansion was also witnessed in 2008 through the acquisition of a 23% share in worldwide corporate travel company, Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) and 49% acquisition of the global outsource provider, Mind Pearl.

In December, 2010, dnata acquired Alpha Flight Limited, expanding the company even further to cover 62 airports in 12 countries.

In November, 2015, dnata acquired RM Ground Services, in Brazil expanding the operations to 84 countries and operating across 6 continents servicing over 150 airlines.

In February 2018 dnata co-founded the Airline Catering Association, which is based in Brussels, Belgium.[3]

Ground handling

dnata employs over 41,000 people who handle passenger, cargo, ramp and technical services for airlines at Dubai International Airport. Globally, dnata also provides airport services to over 127 airports:

Mercator has been the information technology arm of dnata providing technology and services to the aviation industry worldwide.[5] In 2014 Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, acquired the majority stake of Mercator and merged it with Accelya in 2017. The combined company operating under the Accelya brand has 2,800 employees and serves 400 clients worldwide.[6][7]

Cargo

Functioning as the cargo handling operator for the Dubai International Airport Cargo Gateway, cargo services are provided both regionally and internationally at their overseas airports, handling over 3 million tons of cargo annually. In 1991, Calogi,[8] an online communication portal was set up for the cargo community and was the first of its kind in the region allowing airlines, shippers, freight forwarders and ground handling agents to conduct business anywhere in the world.

Travel

dnata Travel provides assistance in the areas of corporate and government travel, luxury holidays, events, groups and incentives, retail and marine travel. There are 202 locations across the GCC with operational presence in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. dnata Travel is also the regional managing partner for the Hogg Robinson Group in the Middle East and West Asia.

Flight catering

Through the acquisition of Alpha Flight Limited in 2010, dnata operates an international flight catering service across 62 airports and 12 countries. With an annual turnover of GB£360 million (AED2.3 billion) in 2010, the company serves 120,000 meals on a daily basis.[9]

Travel Republic
Travel Republic
IndustryTravel
Founded2003
FounderChris Waite, Paul Furner, Peter Furner [10] and Kane Pirie
Headquarters
Kingston upon Thames
,
UK
Area served
United Kingdom
Products
ServicesTravel Agency
OwnerThe Emirates Group, DNATA
Websitewww.travelrepublic.co.uk

Travel Republic Limited is an online travel agency founded in the UK and launched in 2003. Travel Republic is owned by the air services provider, dnata World Travel, which is a part of the Emirates Group.[11]

History

Travel Republic was founded in 2003 by university students Chris Waite, Paul Furner, Kane Pirie[12] and travel agent Peter Furner.[13] They desired to create a website where customers could book accommodation, flights, car transfers and airport parking in one place. The company specialises in enabling users to build their own holiday experience by combining different elements from the Travel Republic site.[14][15]

Travel Republic is a travel search website acting as an agent only. The company is a member of ABTA [16] and holds an ATOL License.[17]

In January 2007 the company moved to its current headquarters in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. In the same year the company had an annual sales growth of 284.2% and topped the charts of The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 .[18]

In December 2011 the company was bought by Dnata World Travel which is a subsidiary of the Emirates Group, based in Dubai.[19]

In December 2015 Travel Republic launched a cruise service in partnership with Imagine Cruising .[20]

In July 2018 Dnata appointed Frank Rejwan (formerly of Abercrombie & Kent, Quintessentially and Ickenham Travel Group) as Managing Director for Travel Republic.[21]

Operations & Technology

In January 2012, Travel Republic first introduced its mobile website, before expanding into mobile app on IOS in 2014. In 2015 the Android version of the app was launched.

The company aired its first YouTube ad on 17 January 2011.[22] Their first television campaign 'The Last Click' aired in June 2014.[23] With its success, Travel Republic continued to launch TV advertising campaigns. 'Welcome to the Travel Republic' was launched in January 2016[24] before the latest campaign aired in December 2016 across UK and Ireland.[25] The campaign highlighted Travel Republic's slogan, 'Yours for the making'.

Controversy

In a case brought by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Travel Republic was accused of breaching ATOL regulations by selling unlicensed package holidays. Judge Nicholas Evans delivered the not-guilty verdict at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 10 November 2009.[26] In his judgement, Evans said the prosecution had failed to prove that Travel Republic did anything other than "sell components of holidays separately, but at the same time".[27][28]

References
  1. "Emirates Group Media Center :: Fact Files". Mediacentre.ekgroup.com. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  2. "Annual Reports, Facts and Figures | The Emirates Group". Mediacentre.ekgroup.com. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  3. Bloomberg. "Airline-Caterer gründen Interessensvertretung". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. "TAS - Toll Air Services - Airline Ground Handling Partners Australia-Wide". www.tolldnata.com. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  5. "Airline IT solutions >". Mercator. 27 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  6. "Warburg Pincus buys majority stake in Emirates' aviation tech firm". Reuters. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  7. Muir, James (19 September 2017). "Accelya and Mercator to operate under the Accelya brand name". AIR CARGO WEEK. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  8. "Welcome to Calogi". Calogi.com. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  9. "Announces Acquisition of Alpha Flight Group Ltd | News | About". dnata. 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  10. "TravelRepublic tops Fast Track 100". www.breakingtravelnews.com. 4 December 2007.
  11. "TRAVEL REPUBLIC LTD - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  12. "Travel Republic Sold". Travel Weekly.
  13. "Travel Republic is the UK's Fastest Growing Privately Owned Company". www.investigate.co.uk. 5 December 2007.
  14. "10 Best Last-Minute Travel Websites". Independent.
  15. "The 10 best websites for booking a city break". Guardian.
  16. "Travel Advice & Holiday Information - ABTA". abta.com.
  17. "Check an ATOL Search Results". publicapps.caa.co.uk.
  18. "TravelRepublic.co.uk tops the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 list". TravelDailyNews International.
  19. "Dnata Acquires Travel Republic - ITTN". www.ittn.ie.
  20. "Travel Republic creates cruise offering". TTG.
  21. http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/308354/dnata-appoints-new-md-for-travel-republic
  22. Republic, Travel. "Travel Republic Launches First Ever TV Campaign". www.prnewswire.co.uk.
  23. "Making Travel Republic the Last Click for holidays". Antidote. 16 June 2014.
  24. "Travel Republic creates national anthem for TV campaign". campaignlive.co.uk.
  25. "Travel Republic TV Advert 2017". Commercial Song. 28 December 2016.
  26. Travel Republic vs CAA Court Ruling
  27. Travel Republic victory: Reaction from the trade
  28. Travel Republic vs CAA: ABTA Comment
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