Çelebi Aviation Group Chief Executive Dave Dorner is doubling down on growth opportunities in developing markets, writes Graham Dunn
Global ground and cargo handling specialist Çelebi Aviation Group is leaning on its experience in serving emerging markets as it plots a growth path ahead.
“We really see ourselves, both from a strategic and a capabilities perspective, as being an emerging markets-focused player,” explained Çelebi Aviation Group Chief Executive Dave Dorner in an interview with ARGS.
“We think that our capability set is matched to emerging markets and we try to maintain that competitive edge in those target markets. We think that we are able to show our flexibility and our efficiency in emerging markets in a more pronounced way because of our history.”
Much of its expertise is drawn from the company’s roots in Turkey. Çelebi was established as an independent handler over 65 years ago and maintains a strong presence in its original market.
“Both from a tourist inbound, but also from a domestic growth perspective, it is an attractive market. And we look to continue to grow with the market,” said Dorner. “There are some pretty strong competitors here so we are always fighting for share, but the market is growing nicely.”
Riding out pandemic
Turkey also proved a good market to be in when the pandemic struck, given the rapid return of air services to the country after Covid hit and subsequent stellar growth. This helped Çelebi to ride out the crisis without shedding a large amount of its staff – not only in Turkey, but in other markets too. That meant it retained crucial experience and knowledge.
“In every place we operated, we tried to maintain to the maximum amount possible our staff. Sometimes that meant reducing working hours, but keeping the staff,” Dorner explained.
“It was a risky strategy because when we started we didn’t know how long it was going to last, but we wanted to do that and what we found was on the other side of it, we were able to ramp up very quickly when flights came back.
“We didn’t really shrink that much and we were able to bounce back very quickly because all the staff were there, they were all ready, trained and eager to go as flights came back,” he said. “We didn’t have skills shortage or training lapses or quality problems, so a lot of things I would argue that even now a lot of our competitors are facing because of the ramifications of that period, we don’t really have that.”
International ambitions
While Turkey remains its biggest market, accounting for around half its revenues in 2024, Çelebi has been expanding overseas looking to capitalise on its experience of operating in emerging markets. This has seen it expand into Hungary, Tanzania, Indonesia, India and Germany.
However, the company was dealt a major blow when in May its authorisations to operate in India were unilaterally revoked by the Indian authorities citing national security concerns. Çelebi rejected the claims, which came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, and stressed it operates in compliance with legal requirements and had not previously received warnings or penalties in relation to national security matters. Çelebi has launched legal action against the decision.
“We were growing aggressively in India and trying to grow actively in other markets. We are going to double down in those other markets,” said Dorner. “We see Indonesia and other markets as having great growth potential to get revenue and earnings.”
Çelebi entered the ground handling market in Indonesia last year when it acquired local handler Prathita Titian Nusantara and began cargo services in the country earlier this year when it won a tender to operate at the new cargo terminal at Kualanamu International Airport.
“We are really just at the tip of the iceberg there,” said Dorner, citing the size of the country and population. “We are in 26 stations, so we have a big footprint. But we want to increase our share and we are really excited about the growth potential of that market.
“Beyond that we are looking at all emerging markets – whether that be Africa, the Middle East, South and East Asia,” he added. “We are going to have some interesting things to announce shortly I think. So, we are doubling down on our strategy of emerging markets growth.”
Çelebi is already present in Africa through its stations in Tanzania and Dorner sees further potential in this market. “I do believe and hope that Africa will be a growth market for the good of everybody and of course we want to be there when it happens,” he said. “It is going to come down to particular business lines and stations. We do have some aspirations in that area and we’ll see how things play out.”
Notably, that could see Çelebi develop a presence in Kenya, after Çelebi Cargo in October signed an agreement to acquire Nairobi-based Transglobal Cargo Centre in a potential US$40 million deal. That deal is still to be completed.
Cost factors
Securing fresh business comes amid stiff competition, together with continued pricing pressure from airlines.
“In any industry people are going to look for ‘can I get the same product cheaper if it does the same thing’, and you have to look for ways to set yourself apart,” Dorner pointed out.
“We have always been incredibly focused on efficiency and that does not mean cutting corners. In fact, it’s the opposite,” he added. “If you are a safe environment and you have fewer disruptions, you are able to attract and retain staff better. So your total cost is better if your safety and quality are better, not the other way round.”
While Dorner sees a role for technology in helping deliver increasing cost-efficiencies, he said this is just one part of a wider picture.
“There are so many things that go in to being efficient, it is not just, ‘I use technology therefore I am efficient’,” he said. “We have to have the workforce wanting to work, well-equipped to work and motivated to work, with the right tools. We have to retain well, train well and we have to have a management team that is able to react to all the things that can happen in an operation like ours in our industry.
“If you are always getting that little bit extra you are going to stay that little bit ahead of your competitors,” he said.
This has been a challenging year for global trade and cargo, amid geopolitical developments and wider trade tensions. Dorner noted that while cargo is growing overall, this has resulted in differing fortunes across trade lanes.
Macro trends
Dorner also highlighted that the trend picture can vary from the macro level on an individual station basis, citing Hungary as an example. Budapest Airport, where Çelebi operates, has reported a surge in air cargo after positioning itself as freight gateway within Europe to Asia. Cargo volumes over the first six months of the year at Budapest were up almost 50% over the same period last year.
“We are seeing huge cargo growth in Hungary, but the seeds were sown earlier,” Dorner said. “We went on a roadshow with the airport to help grow the cargo business there…and it has really paid off for the airport, for us and all the stakeholders in that market.”
Globally, Çelebi Aviation’s revenues increased by 28% to €540 million in 2024 and, despite the setback in India, it has lost none of its interest in emerging markets – though Dorner flagged the importance of stability if multi-nationals are going to invest.
“The most important thing for us, and I think it’s true for all businesses, is you want predictability and you want fairness. You want to know what the rule book is and then you can play by the rules and invest accordingly,” he said. “If you don’t have those certainties, it is very much more difficult. If we find a stable, attractive market that is predicable, then I think we can invest.
“Our strategy is to be an emerging market leader. We think we are the best at it, we want to continue to grow there and we think there are great growth opportunities there,” he said, noting that Çelebi will maintain this focus and push the strategy as fast and profitably as it can.
“We have employees to take care of. We have our investors to take care of. We want to be part of those ecosystems and we want those markets to flourish,” Dorner concluded.
