Emirates (airline)

Emirates

File:Emirates logo.png
IATA ICAO Call sign EK UAE EMIRATES
Founded	1985
Hubs	Dubai International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Skywards
Fleet size	104 (88 Orders)
Destinations	84
Parent company	The Emirates Group
Headquarters	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Key people	Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (Chairman/CEO), Maurice Flanagan (Executive Vice-Chairman Emirates Airline and Group)
Website	http://www.emirates.com

"Emirates" redirects here. For other uses, see Emirates (disambiguation).

Emirates Airline (shortened form: Emirates) (Arabic: الإماراتal-Imārāt) is an airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It operates scheduled passenger services, with nearly 550 flights each week, serving 87 cities in 59 countries in Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa, India and Asia-Pacific. Cargo activities are undertaken under the Emirates SkyCargo name. Its main base is Dubai International Airport.

History

The airline was established in May 1985 by the Dubai government. It started operations with flights to Mumbai and Delhi followed by Karachi in September. A single Airbus A300 and a Boeing 737-300 were leased from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Subsequently two Boeing 727-200 Advanced were acquired from the UAE's Royal Flight. These aircraft were used until Emirates began taking delivery of a fleet of newly built Airbus A300-600R and A310-300 widebodied aircraft.

The first European destination to be added in July 1987 was London-Gatwick. Far Eastern operations commenced to Singapore in June 1990. Emirates acquired a financial stake of 40% and a management contract for Air Lanka on 1 April, 1998, which subsequently changed its name to Sri Lankan Airlines. Emirates received the airline of the year award for the first time in 2001 and repeated the feat in 2002.

It is wholly owned by the Government of Dubai and has 18,579 employees (at March 2007). On February 20, 2007, Emirates was named the UAE's top brand among 25 other local firms. It has a base value of US$ 6.3 billion.

Boeing 777-300ER

Statistics

IATA statistics indicate that in 2005 Emirates ranked among the top-ten airlines in the world in terms of passengers (13.98 million) carried and kilometers (59.3 million) flown. The airline carried 14.5 million passengers in 2005/06, 2 million more than the previous year’s 12.5 million. The passenger seat factor increased to 75.9 per cent, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous year, led by an increase in traffic by 20.2 per cent. In the financial year 2005/2006, Emirates carried 14.5 million passengers and one million tonnes of cargo.

Destinations

Main article: Emirates destinations

File:Clocktower dubai sxc.jpg

Emirates Office

Emirates has launched a major expansion plan, adding several new destinations in conjunction with large orders of new aircraft. However, the carrier's expansion has been hampered by the 22-month delay of the Airbus A380, which underpinned a major part of its expansion plans.

• Emirates announced 6 flights a week to São Paulo. Service starts October 1st.^[1]
• Emirates announced daily non-stop service to Venice. Service starts July 1st.^[2]
• Emirates announced 3 flights a week, non-stop to Houston. Service starts December 3rd.^[3]
• Emirates announced daily non-stop service to Newcastle, England. Service starts September 1st.^[4]
• Emirates is said to be discussing landing fees for a new daily service to Toronto , which would become the first Canadian destination for Emirates and the third route in North America after its daily Dubai to New York service and soon to be launched 3 times weekly Dubai to Houston Service.

Fleet

Passenger Fleet

The Emirates fleet consists of the following aircraft as of March 2007 :

Emirates Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (First*/Business/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Airbus A310-300	1
Airbus A330-200	29	237(12/42/183) 278(27/251)	Short-medium haul European, African and Far East routes
Airbus A340-300	8	267 (12/42/213)	Long haul
Airbus A340-500	10	258 (12/42/204)	Long haul Oceania, Asia, North America, Europe
Airbus A380-800	(47 orders)		Long haul	First aircraft for delivery in August 2008
Boeing 777-200	3	290 (12/42/236) 346 (42/304)	Medium-long haul
Boeing 777-200ER	6	283 (12/35/236)	Medium-long haul
Boeing 777-200LR	(10 orders)	266 (8/42/216)	Ultra long-haul	To be delivered between 2007 and 2008
Boeing 777-300	12	380 (18/42/320) 434 (49/385)	Medium-long Haul
Boeing 777-300ER	23 (31 orders)	358 (12/42/304) 427 (42/385)	Medium-long Haul	Scheduled for delivery between 2007 and 2010
Total	92 (88 orders)	Updated: May 2007

^{*First Class is Offered Only On Select Routes.}

The average age of the Emirates fleet is 5.4 years as of February 2007.

Cargo Fleet

The Emirates cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft as of March 2007:

Emirates Cargo Fleet

Type	Total	Notes
Airbus A310-300F	3
Boeing 747-400ERF	0 (3 orders)	For delivery in May and July 2007,and February 2008 To be operated by Emirates SkyCargo[5]
Boeing 747-400F	5	Operated for Emirates SkyCargo by Atlas Air
Boeing 747-8F	(10 orders)	For delivery in 2008 To be operated by Emirates SkyCargo
Boeing 777F	(8 orders)	For delivery in 2009 To be operated by Emirates SkyCargo (Replacement for 747-400F)
Total	8 (21 orders)	Updated: March 2007

• The Emirates Boeing customer code is 1H. The code appears in aircraft models in this sequence, Boeing 777-31HER.
• Emirates has ordered 45 airbus A380 aircraft. It will be the third airline to receive the aircraft, after launch airline Singapore Airlines and Qantas. Forty-one passenger A380-800s are to be purchased and two are to be leased from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). Two freighter A380-800Fs were ordered for Emirates SkyCargo. However, this was changed to the passenger model in May 2006. Their first A380 was to enter service in October 2006 but will now not be delivered until early 2008. After delivery, the airline will be the largest operator of the type.^[6]
• As of November 20, 2005, Emirates had an orderbook of Dh990 billion, comprising 105 firm orders, including 45 Airbus A380s (by far the largest of any carrier),
• Emirates is still evaluating both Boeing's 787 and Airbus's A350. Boeing is now planning to create a larger 787 called the 787-10 in response to Emirates' and other airlines requirement for a larger aircraft than the already launched Boeing 787-8 and Boeing 787-9. Airbus has also planned a larger A350, known as the A350XWB.
• On October 27, 2006, Emirates announced that it canceled its order for 20 Airbus A340-600 aircraft, citing that they believed the A340 lacked the technology offered by more up-to-date planes. They also cancelled the A380 Airbus A380Fs which were due for delivery in 2009. Instead the airline has opted to order ten of the recently launched 747-8 freighters for its SkyCargo subsidiary at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show, much to the annoyance of Airbus which has accused Boeing of intentionally misleading airlines about the capabilities of its new Airbus A380-800F freighter. [7] The reason Emirates has chosen the Boeing 747-8 "derivative" freighter over the all-new Airbus A380F is the Boeing aircraft's nose-loading capability, something the rival Airbus freighter is lacking. In addition, Emirates also said that it was evaluating the 747-8I, the yet to be launched passenger version of the Boeing 747-8, especially the "stretched" version now studied by Boeing which would incorporate the same 5.6m stretch as the freight variant instead of the mere 3.6m stretch currently envisaged for the passenger model. This would bring the -8I's capacity closer to the A380-800's typical three-class 555-seat capacity (470 seats in a three-class-configuration instead of 450).
• On the 7 May 2007 Emirates reaffirmed its order for 43 A380s and has committed to another 4 as well bringing its total order to 47.

Emirates Boeing 777-300 at Manchester Airport

Services

In November 2006 it was announced that Emirates had signed a deal with mobile communications form AeroMobile. This will allow passengers on board Emirates flights to use their mobile phones to call or text people on the ground. This is the first airline to confirm a deal which will allow passengers to use their personal mobile phone in early January 2007 on selected Boeing 777. Emirates won the award for best inflight entertainment 2006 from Skytrax, because of their ICE (information communication entertainment) system, with the biggest selling point being over 500 channels of Movies, Television and music.

Emirates has begun construction on its own luxury five star hotel and towers. It is located next to Dnata headquarters on the Sheikh Zayed highway.

In mid-2007, Emirates will feature docking capability for Apple Computer's iPod portable music and video player. This will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with Emirates' In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. This will also enable the IFE system to play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, as well as function as a control system.

Affinity programs

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The tower which accomodates all Emirates staff

Skywards

Main article: Skywards

Skywards is the frequent flyer program of Emirates, SriLankan Airlines and other Emirates travel partners. Miles are earned through flights with Emirates and SriLankan, or with cooperating airlines such as Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, South African Airways, and United Airlines. Skywards offers status tiers Silver and Gold, which give additional benefits based upon miles flown in a year.

Emirates Lounges

First and Business Class passengers, as well as Skywards Gold and Silver members, have access to Emirates Lounges, located at several airports throughout the airline's network. In addition to the Emirates Lounge, Emirates passengers are able to use the Department of Civil Aviation's (DCA) First Class lounge in Dubai.

Financial performance

The airline has recorded a profit every year since its inception, except the second. Growth has never fallen below 20 per cent a year. In its first 11 years, it doubled in size every 3.5 years, and has every four years since. The Emirates Group announced a net profits of Dhs 2.8 billion (US$ 762 million) for the financial year ended 31 March 2006.

For 2004–05, Emirates paid an increased dividend of Dh368 million to the Government of Dubai, compared to Dh329 million the year before. In total, the ownership received Dh1.1 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid in 1999. Having provided an initial start-up capital of US$10m plus and an additional investment of circa US$80m at the time of the airline's inception, the Dubai government is the sole owner of the company. However, it does not put any new money into it, nor does it interfere with running the airline.

Business model

An Airbus A380 seen decorated in the Emirates Airline colors at the 2005 Dubai Airshow

Emirates business model has led to their commercial success in the aviation industry. The airline has a lean workforce which can be compared to Low-cost carriers rather than traditional flag carriers. It has a simple organisational structure, that allows the airline to maintain low overhead costs. Due to the low operating costs at its Dubai base, some industry analysts believe the airline is second only to Ryanair on a cash cost per seat basis. Therefore, the airline is able to serve secondary destinations as well as connecting to places via their hub in Dubai. The airline has not joined any major global airline alliances and doubts the advantages of such alliances bring for the airlines as well as for their customers, after taking into consideration the high costs of compliance of alliance membership. The airline operates only wide-body aircraft which results in lower unit costs compared to other major airlines operating a mixture of narrow and wide-body aircraft. It allows Emirates to use the aircraft's cargo capacity to increase its revenues and total profits. Since its Dubai hub does not have any flying restrictions at night, the airline is able to highly utilise their aircraft. The airline virtually does not have any legacy costs compared to other airlines. (It also helps that all forms of strikes are banned in the UAE.

Airbus A330-200

Employment

Emirates, which hopes to take delivery of Airbus A380 has invested Dh73 million (US$20 million) to expand its crew training facility at the Emirates Training Centre. In order to serve its expanding operations the airline has been hiring new cabin crew at a rate of 60 per week, due to rise to 100 per week as larger aircraft, especially the A380s, join the fleet. By 2011, Emirates expects to have more than 14,000 cabin crew on its payroll.

Controversy

Ground handling of an Emirates Boeing 777-300 by CIAS in Terminal 1 in Singapore Changi Airport

The established network carriers in Europe and Australia, i.e. Air France-KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Qantas, perceive Emirates' strategic decision to reposition itself as a global carrier as a major threat because it increasingly enables an ever-growing number of air travellers to by-pass traditional airline hubs such as London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt on their way between Europe/North America and Asia/Australia by changing flights in Dubai instead. These carriers also find it difficult to deal with the growing competitive threat Emirates poses to their business because of their much higher cost base.

Some of these carriers—notably Air France and Qantas—are so concerned about the detrimental effects of Emirates' growth on their future ability to compete with it on a level playing field that they have resorted to openly accusing their Dubai-based rival of receiving hidden state subsidies and of maintaining too cosy a relationship with Dubai's airport authority as well as its aviation authority, both of which are also wholly state-owned entities that share the same government owner with the airline. In addition, they have also accused Emirates of taking unfair advantage of its government shareholder's sovereign borrower status. They claim that this masks its true financial performance and reduces its borrowing costs below market rates.

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Emirates will begin flights to São Paulo this October. It will be the first Midle Eastern airline to fly to South America

Partnerships

Emirates has partnerships of varying degrees with the following companies :

• Korean Air
• Raffles International/Swissotel
• InterContinental
• Zam Gems, Sri Lanka
• SriLankan Airlines
• Standard Chartered Bank (co-branded credit card with SriLankan)
• Radisson Hotels/Rezidor Hotels & Resorts
• Dubai Autodrome
• Marriott Vacation Club International
• Taj Hotels & Resorts

Marketing

Emirates is a big global sponsor of sports clubs and events, both at its home base and in the main overseas markets it serves. It also sponsors the annual "Dubai Shopping Festival". As the airline lacks a "ready-made" clientele in its almost non-existent home market, this type of corporate sponsorship is its most effective marketing tool. Perhaps unsurprisingly, for Emirates marketing expenses account for a far greater share of its total costs than for most of its competitors. In the English-speaking world the sponsorship always carries the words "Fly Emirates".

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Dubai Shopping Festival Logo

At present the company provides the following sponsorships:

• Emirates has sponsored the Austrialian cricket team (defending champions) and hosts West Indies for the Cricket World Cup 2007.
• Emirates has sponsored the Rugby World Cup 2007. This is the second rugby related sponsorship after the Dubai Rugby 7s.
• Emirates is the title sponsor of the Dubai World Cup thoroughbred horse race and was a major sponsor of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup.
• Emirates is also the title and main sponsor of the Melbourne Cup (Australia's richest horse race)
• Emirates was the Official Airline of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
• Emirates is the main sponsor behind the America's Cup challenge team Emirates Team New Zealand, made from the remnants of Team New Zealand who won the cup in 1996, and defended in 2000 before losing it in 2003.
• Emirates is sponsor of Collingwood Football Club
• Emirates is the main sponsor of Arsenal F.C. of the English Premier League, and has its name on Arsenal's new stadium, Emirates Stadium, until June 2020, and is the shirt sponsor until 2014.
• Emirates also holds the sponsorship rights for cricket umpires and association football referees.
• Emirates is now the major sponsor of new Super 14's the Emirates Western Force
• Emirates is also involved in the IRB Sevens World Series
• Emirates was the sponsor of Chelsea F.C.
• Emirates is the sponsor of the football club Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga
• Emirates announced before the start of the 2006 Formula 1 Championship that they had signed a sponsorship deal with Team McLaren Mercedes.
• Emirates is a sponsor for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf division.
• Emirates is the sponsor of Paris Saint-Germain football club
• Emirates became the first company to sponsor two teams in one UEFA Champions League match in 2006, with Hamburger SV facing Arsenal F.C.. Under UEFA regulations, one sponsor cannot appear on both teams' shirts, so for both games, the away side had "Dubai" on their shirts, with the home team wearing Emirates shirts.
• Emirates sponsors the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament.
• Emirates is the main sponsor of the Dubai Rugby 7s tournament.

Incidents and accidents

• An Airbus A340-313X of Emirates ran off the runway when taking off from Johannesburg International Airport on April 9 2004. At the call to rotate, the pilot flying pulled back on the stick. However, according to a report, the nose was then de-rotated and the aircraft did not become airborne. The crew felt a rumbling, selected full power, and about two seconds later the aircraft lifted off the ground. The airport says 25 runway threshold and approach lights and part of the runway surface were damaged as the aircraft went over the end of 21R. The pilot had received ambiguous instructions regarding rotation technique during his transition training. Emirates Training establishment was censured by Airbus after an investigation.

• An Airbus A330-243 en route Dubai-Vienna (Flight EK127) declared an emergency shortly after taking off on May 28, 2006. The aircraft returned for an emergency landing at the Dubai International Airport.

External links

• Official site.
• Emirates Airline - Company Profile
• Emirates Fleet Detail
• Emirates Chairman Interview
• The Emirates Group
• Emirates Skycargo
• Emirates Booking Engine Case Study
• CNN Money.com, Rise of the Emirates Empire, by Matthew Maier, October 1, 2005

References

• The Economist, 2005/6. London, UK: The Economist Newspaper Ltd. (The Economist online)
• Financial Times, 29 October 2005. London, UK: UK Edition. (Financial Times online)
• Financial Times, 19 July 2006. London, UK: UK Edition. (Financial Times online)
• The Sunday Times, 23 July 2006. London, UK: Times Newspapers Ltd. (The Sunday Times online)
• Flight International, 25-31 July 2006. Sutton, UK: Reed Business Information Ltd. (Flight International online)