Emirates works to fly better, cleaner and smarter

• Name: Satish Sethi
• Title: Japan country manager
• URL: https://www.emirates.com/jp/english/
• Hometown: New Delhi
• Years in Japan: 3

Growing up in New Delhi, Satish Sethi woke up early every morning so he could read about the latest events happening around the world. “I used to love following the latest international developments,” he said. “In those days there was no internet, so I used to read the newspaper every day to follow world affairs. I’d have withdrawal symptoms if the newspaper didn’t arrive on time, and I used to try to grab it every morning before my father did, so I could be the first to read about what was happening in the world.”

Now, having been recently appointed country manager Japan for Emirates, one of the world’s preeminent airlines, after a string of similarly successful assignments spanning India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Sethi now finds himself in the novel position of heading up an international company that is as much known for making the news as the international developments he used to follow. He took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with Leaders and Readers to discuss Emirates’ sustainability strategies, recent developments in the airline industry and what brought him to Japan.

Sethi’s journey has been as circuitous as the international trunk lines he now manages. “I was born in India in an era where there was a lot of academic pressure,” he began, “and the options always were, you could either become a doctor or become an engineer. I already had a lot of doctors in my family, so I thought, I can let them do consulting.”

After completing a degree in commerce and business, he briefly took up a position in the family real estate business. Then he saw an advertisement for a job with a local airline. Telling his father he would like to apply but with the intention of working for only a few months for the experience, he promised to return to the family real estate business. “Well, that was 27 years ago,” he joked. “From there, I soon found a job with what was then a small airline called Emirates, where I started off in the Middle East, and I kept on hopping around countries, from the Philippines to Indonesia — wherever the job took me — to eventually landing in Japan.”

With Emirates recently announcing plans to spend over $200 million on research on reducing its carbon footprint, Sethi believes Emirates will set the standard for other airlines to follow. “It’s very important for Emirates to be there in terms of its environmental responsibility,” he said. “While there are multiple global initiatives in place for airlines, Emirates in itself is working together with IATA (the International Air Transport Association) on a number of our own environmental initiatives. We are working on two core concepts: reducing emissions, and consuming responsibly.”

Emirates is investing in technologies that allow pilots to reduce emissions and fuel use by using onboard data during flights, often in collaboration with other airlines, to help the operations teams make more informed decisions in choosing flight paths, fuel uplift, flap settings during landing and reduction of fuel use when taxiing. Emirates is also targeting onboard recycling, including the use of recycled plastic in trays, the toys handed out to kids and the economy-class blankets — which are now being produced by using over 28 recycled PET bottles for each one. “Annually, it’s all saving about 88 million bottles from landfill,” Sethi explained. “So with all that, there’s a lot of collective effort happening. It’s an entire supply chain that has to support this, and most importantly, we operate one of the youngest and most modern aircraft fleets, which is more fuel-efficient and hence more environmentally friendly.”

“Emirates has a strategic priority to provide greener and more environmentally friendly options while still maintaining quality and safety,” Sethi said. “There’s a lot of focus on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). While right now the supply is limited, and as yet only a 50% blend is allowed, so Emirates has recently signed an agreement with Shell to procure 300,000 gallons of SAF over the next year, and as the world provides more supply, Emirates will continue to play its part as an environmentally responsible carrier and aim to stay ahead of the game.”

Emirates is now flying some of its most modern and fuel-efficient aircraft on its direct Narita-to-Dubai and Osaka-to-Dubai flights, using newly fitted-out Airbus A380s, and Haneda-to-Dubai flights using a newly fitted-out Boeing 777, with “premium economy” now offered on all three flights. “We’ve had very positive feedback on the premium economy service,” Sethi said. “It is an option for those who want more comfort than economy but are not yet ready to spend on business class, thereby providing them enhanced space, privacy, meal and baggage allowance.”

“I’ve always drawn inspiration from seeing how those around me work. By nature, I have always been a very observant person,” Sethi said in explaining what keeps him motivated in his work. “I always see people working very hard, and I see people working very smart, and then I see people working the right mix, who know how to strategize, prioritize, in a way that your job becomes less hard, and you enjoy at least the journey of a job smartly done.”

He said he hasn’t just been inspired by some of his superiors over the years who have made quick decisions, but also remembers a baggage handler who showed great initiative when, despite his job being to simply load customers’ bags into a container, he noticed that the bag had been damaged, and informed the ground staff to avoid dealing with a complaint later. “So those simple little efficient ways of working are all inspirational episodes that have inspired me across my career.”