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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIn the face of an urgent situation, Raphael acted with precision under pressure. His story is a shining example of the exemplary commitment of Emirates Group employees who consistently rise to the occasion to make an indelible mark on the business, their peers, and the wider industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raphael\u2019s story is one of six Najm Chairman\u2019s 2024 Awards that individually and collectively recognise Emirates Group employees in six categories: measurable customer experience improvements, innovation, leading impactful initiatives that contribute to the Group\u2019s ESG efforts and commitment to fostering a safety-first culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employees were honoured at a ceremony today at Emirates\u2019 Group Headquarters, led by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His Highness commented on the extraordinary efforts and initiatives of the winners of this year’s awards: “The dedication, spirit of collaboration, perseverance, and ingenuity of team members being honoured today shows the Emirates Group at its best. Whether it’s skilfully undertaking the largest known fleet retrofit project, expanding the digital retailing experience, achieving fuel savings across our flight operations, bringing sustainability to the forefront of our dnata Travel business, making the travel experience more inclusive, and showing courage in the face of danger, these defining moments demonstrate the attitudes and actions that will have a lasting impact on the organisation for years to come.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Najm Chairman\u2019s Award nominations run through a rigorous review before the final selection. 22 individuals and team members were awarded this year, and here are their stories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breathing new life into the Emirates fleet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In August 2022, Emirates began the largest known fleet retrofit project the industry has seen. The endeavour was internally dubbed \u2018Project Phoenix\u2019, and involved a year of detailed planning, trialling and innovation, and resulted in a sequenced task to install a full Premium Economy cabin and refresh the full aircraft interiors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working with tenacity and dedication, the teams clocked in over 30,000 manhours, taking apart the interiors of the Emirates A380 and refitting the parts again in a carefully planned and tested sequence. The same endeavour was then undertaken for Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft. The retrofit project will increase the lifespan of the Emirates fleet by more than a decade, and the precedent set by the airline and the trailblazing approach it has taken to upgrade its fleet interiors is now being emulated across the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Futureproofing Emirates\u2019 retail capabilities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Emirates\u2019 Revenue Optimisation team embarked on a strategy to modernise the airline\u2019s retail capabilities. The result was the introduction of a New Distribution Capability (NDC) Gateway, and today, thousands of trade partners use the system to drive product and price differentiation, supporting millions of customers to choose Emirates for their journeys. Teams working on the painstaking details of the project have helped the airline strengthen the expansion of its distribution landscape across the global travel retail community and offer travellers a better view of Emirates\u2019 best-in-class products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n