Emirates is a major international airline with a strong operational presence in the United States. The regional team manages operations across 12 states, supporting airport activities through a fleet of 40 vehicles. These vehicles are distributed among team members who are responsible for fueling and maintaining them while keeping financial oversight tight.
Lloyd Mahowe, Regional Finance & Admin Manager of the Americas, is responsible for overseeing and managing expense processes across the fleet.
The Challenge
A cumbersome, manual reimbursement process for 40 vehicles
Before Coast, Emirates relied on a mix of petty cash, personal credit cards, and expense reimbursements via Concur. This decentralized, paper-heavy approach created multiple issues:
- Lack of oversight and control over fuel spending
- Burden of reviewing and verifying ~160 monthly reimbursement claims
- Time-intensive manual processing
- Risk of leakage and inaccuracy when handling cash
“It was either petty cash or personal cards and Concur claims,” Lloyd explained. “It was quite cumbersome.”
The Solution
A centralized system with full visibility and simplified billing
After learning about Coast, Lloyd and his team quickly adopted the platform and saw immediate benefits:
- Each driver received their own Coast card
- Monthly fueling activity is consolidated into one invoice
- Detailed utilization reports allow for easy purchase monitoring and validation
- Clear documentation streamlines approvals and reduces the need for follow-ups
“What I like most is the reports that I get. Invoices come to me together with the utilization reports. I’m able to check how frequently they’re filling up and sense check if those expenses make sense,” Lloyd says.
The Results
From 13 hours of processing to just 30 minutes a month
Previously, Lloyd had to review 160 separate claims per month. At roughly five minutes per claim, this amounted to about 13 hours of labor. Now, that’s down to just 30 minutes per month.
“Instead of dealing with 160 claims, now I’m just working with a single invoice,” he describes.
Beyond the time savings, Coast also introduced better financial controls and reduced the risk of leakage.
From Lloyd’s perspective, the structured, fleet-specific approach of Coast offers a major advantage over general corporate cards. “From an accountant’s point of view, Coast is very helpful in controlling expenses, having an overview of what you are spending on, and again a well-structured process,” he explains.
The impact of Coast on Lloyd’s operations was clear:
✅ Saved 13 hours of administrative time per month by replacing 160 individual claims with a single consolidated invoice
✅ Streamlined fuel management across a 40-vehicle fleet spread across 12 states
✅ Improved visibility and control through detailed utilization reports
✅ Reduced financial leakage and fraud risk by eliminating reliance on petty cash and personal reimbursements
✅ Established a more structured, scalable process tailored specifically to fleet management and not just general corporate card usage
Want to see how Coast can help streamline your fuel management? Check out our interactive demo.
